The Vampire Diaries Season 5 Episode 1 Review - Spoiler Alert

I Know What You Did Last Summer

I was so excited about the return of The Vampire Diaries (TVD) so much so that in the month leading up to the first episode of season 5 I watched all four of the previous seasons back to back. I was expecting to maybe be slightly disappointed with this season due to the fact the the originals had left to make their own spin off series but since The Originals (TV show) started a week earlier than TVD I thought that this wouldn't be an issue since I already had my weekly fix of Klaus and Elijah. However, I hate to say it but this first episode of TVD left me feeling slightly disappointed, something that has never happened before. 

Summer is over, but Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena (Nina Dobrev) are still going strong. They finally got together properly (without a sire bond between them) something I have been wanting to happen since season 1. So the episode starts with them all over each other (a lot) but now that Ian and Nina have broken up in real life, for some reason, I just don't believe the relationship between Elena and Damon anymore. It just didn't seem believable anymore.

Before Elena leaves for Whitmore College she wants to make sure Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) is all settled in after his trip back from the land of the dead.They make up a story that he faked his own death??? Really??? Is anyone actually going to believe that? When Jeremy does go to school two guys start pushing him around. As hunter Jeremy puts them both down. After recently watching season 1 I couldn't help but notice how much different Jeremy is. In season 1 he was a skinny wimp and now he has lots of muscle and can take on two guys a once.

It sounds like Elena compelled herself more than just a place at the university, because Caroline (Candice Accola) is her roommate. Their university is 2 hours away from Mystic Falls. This is something that, at the moment, I do not like. I always thought that Mystic Falls was a perfect setting for TVD and now they are not there.

The girls expect Bonnie (Kat Graham) to join them at Whitmore. (The witch has been “travelling” all summer, which is code for “dead and living in another realm.”) Instead, they find another student named Megan (Hayley Kiyoko) in their dorm. I don't know why Bonnie just doesn't let Jeremy tell everyone that she is dead. This is TVD after all and everyone dies and comes back to life at some point. 

As for room mate Megan she is dead by the end of the episode. How predictable. This seems to happen in every TV show. When Buffy went to college she had a room mate that died. When Claire from Heroes went to college she had a room mate that died. When watching this episode of TVD I thought of at least two other TV shows where the college room mate died but I have forgotten them for the moment. I sure they will come to me again soon. After Megan dies Elena finds a photo of Megan with her dad (Greyson not John) on Megan's phone.

Katherine (Nina Dobrev) is human and in need of companionship. She shows up at the Salvatores’ and tries to make Damon her personal bodyguard. Katherine is funny as a human for example complaining about blisters from her heels. Damon offers her his blood in order to turn her again but she refuses. I don't know why. She says that it is because no one has taken the cure before and she is worried that if she dies then she may remain dead. Surely if she hates being human so much it is worth the risk?

Two people who really have been travelling, Rebekah (Claire Holt) and Matt (Zach Roerig), trade Europe for Mystic Falls. On their voyage, the couple met Nadia (Olga Fonda), who’s beautiful but mysterious and during their travels the three of them had a threesome. Really? Can anyone really picture Matt having a threesome? Because I didn't think he had it in him. 

Back in Mystic Falls Nadia turns up and does some sort of spell on Matt. His eyes turn black but for now we do not know what she has done. I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. I like the fact that Matt is human and normal, at the moment he is the only normal guy left. I hope that Nadia hasn't turned him into some sort of demon.

Stefan (Paul Wesley) continues to drown in his underwater prison, and Elena senses something is wrong with her ex. I was expecting Silas to pretend to be Stefan for so long that I would start to get bored of the story. I was really expecting them to drag this story out for as long as possible. But all of them (apart from Elena and Caroline at college) find out that Silas looks like Stefan in this first episode. To me this is too far the other way. Yes I didn't want the story to be dragged out for the entire season but it seems kind of pointless for Silas to look like Stefan if he wasn't going to have a bit of fun with it. 

The town has an end of summer party. Will the people of Mystic Falls ever learn that parties here never go well and someone ends up dead. The poor person that died this time was Bonnie's dad. Silas managed to mind control practically the whole town and then kill Bonnie's dad in front of everyone. I found it hard to feel anything about his death because we hardly knew him but Bonnie's reaction definitely stole the scene. Being dead and all no one could see her but she saw Silas kill her dad and Kat Graham definitely did some brilliant acting here and I did feel sorry for her. 

Well like I said this episode left me feeling slightly disappointed but I still cant wait until next week's episode.

The Originals - Season 1 - Episode 1 - Review - SPOILER ALERT

ALWAYS AND FOREVER

Oh my god I have got so much to say I don't know where to start.

I have been so excited about The Originals since the Pilot episode was an episode of The Vampire Diaries back in April and I couldn't wait for the actual series to start. I have even just spent 5 weeks watching the first 4 seasons of The Vampire Diaries back to back in preparation for the start of The Originals and The Vampire Diaries (TVD) season 5. So I only watched The Originals' Pilot from The Vampire Diaries a week before it began on TV. 

I will admit that having seen the Pilot from TVD twice (including once last week) I was more excited about the second episode of The Originals than seeing what I thought was the first episode again for the third time. I was expecting this first episode to be the same as the one I had already seen with the exception of the appearance of the characters of TVD. I heard that Julie Plec said that these scenes had been deleted so that you don't have to be a fan of TVD to enjoy The Originals but I definitely think that it will be a whole lot easier and also enjoyable for people who are fans of TVD.


Well, so this morning I was sat on the sofa with my cup of tea extremely excited and hoping that my baby would play long enough to let me watch the first episode. Before I even got to the beginning of the episode my baby wanted attention but this didn't bother me too much because I was expecting to be watching a programme that I had already seen twice. Oh how completely wrong I was. Within seconds I realised that this was going to be completely different to what I had already seen and oh my god, like I said at the start I have so much that I want to say about it.

Before I get too involved in the actual episode I want to start by saying I love the character of Klaus Mikaelson. Ever since he made his debut on TVD in Season 2, I’ve been captivated by his edge, his viciousness, his vulnerability and of course, his accent doesn’t hurt. I have also been really interested in the back story of the originals (so season 3 of TVD has definitely been my favourite so far).

I have thought for ages that there should be a spin off series so we can see more of the originals' 1000 year history so obviously I was extremely excited about The Originals. However, I got the impression that it would be almost completely Klaus focused with the other originals there in the background. Especially since, that was the impression the pilot from TVD gave. Again, I was completely wrong again, at least I was about this first episode. Klaus was hardly in it. So I have one question for boss lady Julie Plec: why take the focus away from Klaus in this first episode? Don’t get me wrong, I love Elijah, and I think Daniel Gillies carried this episode beautifully and I have always thought that Elijah gets no where near as much focus as he should. It just wasn't what I was expecting and it is unclear how this will continue. 

It’s not easy to take characters with over two seasons of backstory and try and introduce them to a new audience. So by letting Elijah narrate the story, not only did viewers get a history lesson in Vampires 101, but they also saw it through the eyes of someone who was there. However, by placing Elijah, the observer, at the forefront of this battle between witches and vampires, everything that made the backdoor pilot so captivating, for some - the action, the suspense, and the high stakes - was buried under layers of exposition. I personally really enjoyed it because, like how I said many times already, it was not what I was expecting. However, people who saw TVD episode might not like it because it was not what was expected. 

The episode begins with a flash back to 300 years earlier when the originals first arrived in New Orleans. Complete with Finn and Kol daggered and in coffins. My first thought was that Kol was only daggered for just over 100 years when he made his first appearance in TVD? But then when it comes to Klaus, he probably daggered his siblings on and off a number of times over the last 1000 years. So I will let this go rather than pointing the finger and say continuity error like I would usually do.

Back to the present day we see Elijah talking to the barmaid Cami about Klaus trying to locate Jane-Anne Deveraux. In true TVD style, when Elijah is talking about his father, Cami replies with
“Your dad was a dick.” (Sorry Cami but you will never be Caroline).

Instead of watching Marcel kill practising witch Jane-Anne Deveraux, we see Elijah get to the scene of the crime half an hour too late. We watch as Jane-Anne’s sister Sophie prays over her body, and wails in agony as Marcel and his vampire minions carry her body away before Sophie can lay her sister to rest. 

Like I said, I personally loved how this episode was done, but I think that if you are not already a fan of TVD I am not sure if it will work for you. By putting Klaus in the background, the viewers don’t get a sense of why they should care about him. If this is supposed to be Klaus’s redemption story, then he needs to be a featured player. Elijah describes his brother as “complicated, defiant, ill-mannered, and a little temperamental.” But that barely scratches the surface! All of Joseph Morgan’s fragility is lost, and that’s a shame. (Remember when Klaus had tears in his eyes when he was talking to Cami in the backdoor pilot? Yeah, that didn’t make this cut). 

That being said, The Originals worked on many levels. Its darker tone separates it from The Vampire Diaries. There’s no cliche love triangle (yet) and no petty high school drama. This is a story about a family, bound by blood, and frayed after centuries of betrayal and abandonment. At the heart of this series, there’s a war brewing between the witches of New Orleans and the French Quarter’s vampire king Marcel (played by Charles Michael Davis, I am not too sure about him yet). Marcel has restricted the witches from using magic (why? we don’t know), so in order to regain control of the Big Easy, the witches lure Klaus to New Orleans and force him to join their fight. 

Now, one might ask what would make an immortal Original hybrid (part vampire, part werewolf) like Klaus play this silly game. The answer is a baby. Yes, Klaus is a soon-to-be daddy, and the witches have tracked down his baby's mother Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin). I was never really that keen on Hayley when she was in TVD. I thought that she was a pretty pointless character and didn't understand why she was there. I guess the reason was so that Klaus actually had someone to have a baby with, there definitely isn't any other characters from TVD who could have been used for this story.

When Elijah meets Hayley, he shows her the story of how they became vampires. A story which TVD fans have seen before, however, we now saw the first time Klaus killed someone and therefore triggering the werewolf and their mother putting the hybrid curse on Klaus. Two things we hadn't already seen in TVD. I can't wait for more flashbacks. When I initially heard that The Originals was being made I was hoping that it was all going to be the history of the family rather than the present day where only 3 of them are left but hopefully we will get the best of both worlds this way. 

But Klaus really doesn’t care about his unborn child (yet anyway) but Elijah does. The elder is Mikaelson is big on family and he sees this baby as the thing that can save Klaus from himself. “This child could offer you the one thing you never believed you had - the unconditional love of family.” However, Klaus sees the baby as a power play. As the former king of New Orleans Klaus wants to return to his rightful throne. 

In order to do so, he needs to convince Marcel he is on his good side (with a little help from Elijah) and then take his kingdom out from under him. Now, this is where it gets tricky. Klaus could easily kill Marcel; Klaus is indestructible, Marcel is not. So what’s keeping Klaus from killing him? Sophie. The Deveraux has a plan, and everything has to go her way - or else. Before her death, Jane-Anne binded Sophie’s life with Hayley’s, so Sophie is in completely control of this chess game. But Marcel has his own queen ready to destroy the board - Devina. I am getting impatient already though. What is Sophie's plan? Why can't she just let Klaus and Elijah kill Marcel and his minions? Why is Marcel preventing witches from doing magic? What is Devina up to?

 

It appears as though Marcel is using Devina to detect when witches are using magic. Sophie obviously knows about Devina, so the real question is why doesn’t she want Klaus to know about her? 
 
The dynamics between Klaus and Elijah are deeply complex. Both Joseph Morgan and Daniel Gillies deliver phenomenal performances, especially when the two brothers find themselves at odds halfway through the episode. After a fistfight in which the words “I will never let go!” are uttered (not quite sure if it sound more or less pathetic than Titanic though). Elijah tells his brother why, after all these years, he’s never lost hope on him, even when everyone else has. Elijah feels like he failed Klaus. “The first time our father laid a hand on you, I should have struck him dead. I made a promise to you: Always and forever. Family above all.” Firstly, I am pretty sure they made that promise later while they were around their mother's grave, unless they made it before that and we haven't seen it yet. Secondly, every time one of them brings that promise up I can't help but smile because they are not very good at keeping it.

Of course, Klaus isn’t very receptive to Elijah’s regrets. As thick as Klaus would like to pretend his skin is, we all know he is an emotional mess. (This is a man who likes to draw horses, remember?) So Elijah hits him where it hurts. “Who’s more pathetic? The one who sees hope to make his family whole, or the coward who can only see the world through his own fear?” 

By the end of the episode, it seems like Elijah has finally convinced his brother to play house with Hayley and the unborn baby in the Big Easy. But Klaus lets his insecurities and paranoia get the best of him and he stakes his brother Elijah with a dagger and dessicates him. For new viewers, this might seem shocking, but TVD fans know that this is a regular event for the Mikaelson siblings. Although, in a way, I was slightly surprised that this happened, I was expecting Elijah to be around a bit longer. Hopefully he will be back, and soon.

There is a reason Rebekah (Claire Holt)  is only seen in telephone conversations with Elijah. She is not too happy with Klaus and his constant need to push his siblings away. Klaus put it brilliantly
“One too many times daggered and shoved in a box, I gather.”

So is this baby a way for Klaus to find happiness? A way to save himself? I personally can't see it, considering how he treats the rest of his family but maybe it will change him. I guess we will have to wait 8 months or so. I guess that will be in the final episode of the season. 

Well, after months of waiting I really enjoyed this first episode of The Originals and I can't wait until next Tuesday for the second episode along with the first episode of TVD season 5. Tuesdays is now my favourite TV night.

Some of my favourite lines from this first episode include: -

• “I’m Elijah. You heard of me?” I don't know why but I love it when Elijah says this and the way the other person instantly becomes scared. Elijah is actually the good one out of them all.

• “Then leave him to his temper tantrum and return home.” Rebekah always has some good one liners

• “You demand to be left alone at least once a decade, so by now, it’s lost its impact.” I would have thought that it would have been a lot more but it was still funny.

• “One too many times daggered and shoved in a box, I gather.” I have always loved the way the originals talk about each other

Mistresses - US TV Series Review - Series 1, Episode 6 - Spoiler Alert

I have worked out why I do not like this show. Three out of the four main characters have been cast completely wrong and I really don't like them. 

Firstly, Alyssa Milano as Savannah (Savi). I really like the name Savannah but no one calls her that, everyone calls her Savi which I think is horrible and stupid and for some reason it really bothers me each time I hear it. But that isn't the main problem. Why did they cast Alyssa Milano? I really don't like her in Mistresses but since I haven't seen her in anything else I don't know if it is actually Alyssa I don't like or whether it is just Savi. I cannot relate to her character at all which isn't good since she is the main character. Whenever she is having any sort of problem (which seems to be all the time) I just don't care, she brought them all on herself and I am getting a bit tired of hearing about them. 

Next, Yunjin Kim as Karen Kim. Oh my god what a dull and boring person and what a stupid character. Again I have never seen Yunjin in anything else but in Mistresses she is just so dull and boring and she is always exactly the same, she doesn't seem to have any other side to her other than dull and boring regardless of what is going on. Also, Karen is suppose to be a successful and clever psychiatrist, so why is she so stupid?? She sleeps with her patient, prescribes him lethal amounts of medication so he can kill himself but doesn't cover her tracks, she gets involved with his son on a regular basis as well when she knows what trouble in can cause. Again, because she is so stupid I am past carrying what happens to her.

And now Jess Macallan as Joss Carver, oh my god, this is definitely the worse one. The character of Joss is portrayed as a person who can manipulate anyone (male and female) into getting whatever she wants. Also, she can get anyone she wants into bed (again male or female). But she is extremely ugly so god knows how she does it. I am sorry, but the way they are portraying the character of Joss I would have expected someone really pretty to be playing the character or at the very least someone who isn't really ugly. Also, her role as a real estate agent is completely unrealistic, I have worked with estate agents and none of them have ever acted the way she does with clients. 

Finally, Rochelle Aytes as April. As an actress, I actually don't have anything bad to say about her and I do like the character of April. It is just when it comes to Miranda I want to shake April and tell her to stop being so nice to her and don't give her anything. Hopefully she will come to her senses soon. 

Okay, now I have got that out of my system back to this week's episode.


 Payback

Savi impatiently waits for Harry to talk to her after the bombshell she dropped. She stops by the restaurant where her hubby spent the night. The beginning of a conversation is interrupted by the pretty hostess who never remembers her boss’s wife. Savi suspects this woman may be having an affair with Harry. She later meets up with Dominic, who wants to know if she thought about his declaration of his feelings. Savi lets him know that she’s pregnant. She says the baby is Harry’s even though the paternity test results aren’t back yet. God knows how she expects to get away with that lie since Dominic is black and Harry is white, it wont be something she will be able to hide once the baby is born. 

Savi lets Harry know that she’s looking for a new job. She hopes this will be a good first step into repairing things between them. She also makes known her suspicions that Harry is sleeping with the help. Yes Savi, just because you are a cheat that automatically means your husband is as well. He is not, even though hostess girl totally wants him. As for Savi, she lets Dominic know that one of the reasons she is looking for a new gig is because she doesn’t believe being around him is the best idea. As for Harry, he is still dealing with the fact that Savi destroyed him with her affair. More importantly, it destroyed them. I don't know why this was a shock to Savi, did she really expect everything to be fine?

April makes plans to go on a real date with Patrick. She also gives Miranda a cheque for a hundred dollars and instructs her to go back to Florida. The two ladies have a verbal blowout with Patrick hearing everything from afar. April banishes Miranda from her house. She still wants to go on her date, but Patrick lets her know that she doesn’t have to put on a happy face for him. It’s okay for her to be vulnerable. He’s not going anywhere. As for the Miranda situation, April opts to give her a bigger cheque for her son’s sake. But she will have to sell part of her business to do so. April why are you doing this? Just tell her to get lost and stop being so nice.

Karen comes into work to learn that her office was the focus of a break-in the night before. There is a chance someone may have made copies of the files on her computer. She desperately tries to track down Elizabeth Grey only to learn that she is out of the country. Karen tells Jacob that she believes the break-in was about her, but her business partner gets ticked when she doesn’t provide full disclosure. Later, Karen finds the photo of her that was taken in Thomas’s old apartment. There’s a note on the back that reads “Missing You – Sam.” 

Olivier knows that Joss is the ringleader when all of his employees invade his office to sneak a peek at the porno flick being shot in the building across the street. Nevertheless, he makes everyone work late as punishment. He also instructs Joss to get a listing from a difficult Italian couple. Joss does a Google search to get the scoop on her new boss. She says she wants to manipulate him (see my thoughts about this above). The only thing she really learns is that he eats a banana a day to keep up his potassium level. Compelling stuff.
Olivier lets Joss know that she’s the type of person who thinks that the rules don’t apply to her. He didn’t have to Google her to find that out. Later, Olivier opens his office cabinet to find hundreds of bananas inside. There’s a note stating that it is for his potassium levels. Olivier can’t help but laugh at the prank and okay I laughed as well but who does that in the real world? I have worked in loads of offices and no one would have ever dreamt of doing anything like that to the boss. In other news, Joss finds a baby book amongst her sister’s stuff. She excited to learn that she is going to be an aunt. Then she discovers that her sister has been keeping lots of other secrets from her. This leads to a big blowout that ends with Joss feeling very, very hurt. But did I care? Nope

Mistresses - US TV Series Review - Series 1, Episode 5 - Spoiler Alert

Decisions Decisions 

Harry believes the reason his wife’s breath suddenly smells somewhat metallic is because she may be pregnant. He actually did some research on this odd fact. I remember that horrible metallic taste from when I was pregnant but my other half never mentioned if my breathe did smell. 

Harry picks up a home pregnancy test so his loving wife can verify his theory. At work, Savi gets angry when she sees a pretty paralegal flirting with Dominic. She sends the young lady on an errand that takes her far from the office. Dominic confronts Savi about what happened. He reveals that there is something between them. He doesn’t regret what happened between them, not for a moment.

Back home Savi steps into the bathroom to take the pregnancy test. She notices she’s bleeding. She tells Harry it must mean she’s not pregnant. I thought that she was just making it up to buy herself some more time but she was actually bleeding and she thinks she is losing the baby. Luckily that was not the case at all because if she did lose the baby then this storyline would have been a complete waste of time. It turns out that it was just some natural spotting. The doctor says it isn't anything to worry about, but the stress Savi is currently feeling certainly is. It’s not good for the baby. Savi realises it is time to come clean to Harry. She lets him know that she is, indeed, pregnant and that the baby might not be his. I thought she was going to drag it out as long as she could so I was glad that she did tell him.
  
Well, now onto Joss. Over the past 4 weeks I have kept saying that her storyline with Alex has been completely unrealistic but during this episode things have finally become clear. The writers wanted to have a scene with two women having sex in the shower, god knows why though, because I really don't think that the type of people who would be watching this show would be interested in seeing two women having sex in the shower. 

Alex lets Joss know that she officially broke up with Sally. She needs help moving her stuff into her new place. That’s what friends are for, right? Apparently, they are also for saving water. Joss is initially stunned when the door to her shower opens. A naked Alex stands on the other side asking to join her. Joss lets out a slight approving smile as her friend steps inside. The shower continues to stream as the two ladies slowly close in on each other for a passionate kiss. Steam fills the room as the hot water cascades down the naked, embracing bodies inside. Because when you no longer want to buy a house from someone the most obvious thing to do is jump in the shower with them. 

Things are awkward for Joss after the shower adventure, but Alex lets her know that she isn't gay because of what they did. They agree that it was just a fun thing between friends. Harry doesn’t see it that way. Joss gets a lecture from him about the choices she makes. Sally also gives her something to think about as well when she claims that Alex has fallen for her. This has Joss avoiding Alex to have sex with a hot, dumb guy who loves watching cartoons. That is not working for her though so Joss skips out on cartoon boy to hang with Alex at her new place.

April is trying to figure out a way to come up with the money to pay Miranda. Like I said before, if it was me I wouldn't be giving her any money. April your best friend is a lawyer so use her. A meeting with her financial adviser is interrupted when the school calls to say Lucy never showed. She skipped class with a friend to go see Selena Gomez at a bookstore. Cute dad Patrick’s daughter also ditched class. April is furious with Lucy, but also a little jealous. She admires her daughter’s adventurous, wild side. Patrick lets her know that it’s not too late to change her ways. April agrees. That is why she hops into one of her store’s display beds with the guy. How impulsive and 'un-April'.

Karen is informed that she has been chosen to be the keynote speaker at a mental health symposium (thank you The Big Bang Theory I actually know what that word means). She barely has time to process this good news when insurance investigator Anthony Newsome shows up at her office. He wants Karen’s notes leading up to Thomas Grey’s death. There’s a chance this may become a criminal matter. Elizabeth Grey dismissed the hospice nurse the night she killed her hubby with the drugs Karen provided. She wants Karen to create fake notes so that the insurance company will deny the life insurance settlement and they can both move on with their lives. Karen reluctantly does as she asks! Since these two women had been planning Thomas Grey's death for months and helping him when the time came I would have thought that they would have come up with a better plan to cover their tracks but for some reason they didn't. 

I am starting to find Mistresses slightly watch-able but I still wouldn't say I enjoyed it. I have probably said it before but the only reason I have got this far with it is because it is on a night when there isn't much else on

Ringer (US TV Series) Review - Season 1 Episode 10 - Spoiler Alert

That's What You Get Trying to Kill Me

After another intriguing episode of Ringer I'm left with one lingering question (yes another question)... but I'll get to that. "That's What You Get Trying to Kill Me" left me with numerous inquiries but it's the one toward the end that's the problem.

Malcolm tells his suspicions about Charlie to the police. They search the house but Charlie has moved Gemma.

Bridget plays Nancy Drew. Bridget and sidekick Malcolm believed that Gemma was locked in Charlie's basement just because he had a lock on the door. Gemma's been missing for weeks. There's been no ransom demand. I know they want to think the best but finding her phone seemed to point to Charlie as her killer more than her kidnapper. The fact that they never mention the thought that she might be dead seemed odd.

This left me with the question, why is Gemma still alive? What was the point of having Charlie abduct her? Did Siobhan know she knew about the Bridget/Siobhan switch and wanted to keep her quiet? If so, how did she know? Also, weren't there easier, less bloody ways of doing that? Like Charlie said, I'd hate to see how Siobhan handles her enemies if this is the way she treats her friends.

Charlie tells Siobhan he is done with her game. He tells Bridget he has Gemma and wants a $250,000 ransom. Bridget doesn't question why he has had Gemma for so long and has only now demanded a ransom. I know I would have to ask more questions.

Bridget and Andrew go to drop off the ransom but the police are tailing them. Henry called them when he grew suspicious of Bridget. Charlie sees the police and shoots Gemma instead.

Somehow Gemma survives. Charlie must be a really bad shot, he was standing a foot away from her when he shot her. How did he miss? Didn't he used to be a cop? Gemma hits Charlie but he gets up. Just before he kills her he tells her that Siobhan, not Bridget is the one who is responsible for this. Again, what was the point? Why keep her so long just to kill her and why did he miss the first time he shot her just to kill her 5 minutes later? I really didn't get the point of this. If he missed the first shot surely it would have made more sense for Gemma to have gotten away?

Henry's three steps behind. Or at least it always seems that way. Unfortunately, when he finally started to catch up, his actions got Gemma killed. Well, they certainly got her shot.

Henry's call to the cops prompted Charlie to shoot her but then by some miracle she survived and was able to hit him. So when he spoke and she knew he was still conscious, why not hit him again? And maybe a couple more times for good measure instead of pleading for his keys? You'd think she'd want to beat him senseless and then run.

Siobhan flies back to New York and confronts Charlie. When they fight, she shoots and kills him. The police think Charlie killed Gemma, then himself. Well at least this story got Siobhan back to New York. What will happen now? Will see let people know she is back and Bridget has been pretending to be her? Will we find out why she left in the first place?

Siobhan tells Tyler that the baby she's carrying is his and that Andrew beats her. She fakes a black eye to 'prove' it. Not quite sure what the point of this is yet. Maybe he caught her off guard or maybe this is all part of her plan. I wish she would hurry up and let us in on what her plan is.

Juliet's crush on her teacher continues to grow. He becomes angry and tells Juliet they need to talk in private. Later, Julie tells her friend that he raped her. Very unrealistic. When I did my teacher training we were specifically told not to put yourself into a situation like this. If a student starts coming onto you you definitely don't ask the other students to leave the room so you can be alone.

Juliet has been on a predictable path. So Juliet's big storyline is her twisted crush on her teacher. They've been telegraphing the build up to this story for weeks and I was tired of it almost before it began. Couldn't they find something more interesting to do with the show's only teenager?

So now the question becomes, is Mr. C some psycho rapist attacking young girls or is Juliet looking for revenge for getting rejected? however, like I said it doesn't seem realistic, but then everyone on Ringer seems to have secrets and a plan so why not either Juliet or Mr C.

Another one of Machado's informants is murdered. She was played by Buffy's Amber Benson. Great actress and completely different to Tara in Buffy. It would have been nice to see her act again with Sarah Michelle Gellar and maybe not get killed off so quickly. This time Machado catches the mole Makawi has in the department. Which obviously turned out to be Jimmy (who is also working with Siobhan).

Yes Machado's back. I've missed him. But with him came another dead stripper / informant. Perhaps Bridget was right to run. It doesn't appear that Agent Machado is very good about keeping the people around him safe. Perhaps finally capturing one of Makawi's moles will help.

At the end of this episode, I was left with that lingering question. What's the point? Why keep Gemma alive only to kill her now (and take two goes at it)? Why have Charlie tell her Siobhan is still alive only to kill them both? Why is Siobhan trying to convince Tyler he's her baby daddy? But, most of all, why did Siobhan start this whole mess to begin with? I'm still really interested and can't wait to see the next episode but I am starting to wish that some questions will start getting answered rather than each episode just creating more questions.

Ten episodes in and I still don't have a clue why all of this is happening.

Ringer (US TV Series) Review - Season 1 Episode 9 - Spoiler Alert

Shut Up and Eat Your Bologna

"Shut Up and Eat Your Bologna" had some twists I didn't see coming. Let's break then down:

Andrew plans to take Bridget away on vacation.  Olivia is upset he won't stay and try to get Gemma's rich father's business.

Bridget visits Siobhan's therapist. The therapist asks her why is she calling herself Siobhan Martin. My first thought was what does she know and how does she know it? But it just turned out that Siobhan called herself Cora when making appointments. Bridget finds out that Siobhan was on medication for paranoia. The therapist's notes say Siobhan thought she was being stalked.

Bridget realises that she is falling for Andrew. Well, who didn't see that one coming. He's been sweet and kind. He's rich and appears to be a good guy. He dotes on her if she lets him. I don't know how he treated Siobhan but Andrew has probably treated Bridget better than any other man in her life. Plus he buys her beautiful things and offers to take her on exotic vacations. What's not to like? Also, from the way they have been treating each other I am starting to think that if Siobhan did come back (and he can look past Bridget lying about who she is) he would probably prefer to be with Bridget rather than Siobhan. 
 
Bridget gives Charlie the gun she's been hiding and asks him to dispose of it. He calls Siobhan to let her know. Surely it can't be that difficult to get rid of a gun yourself? Not that I have ever tried.
 
Gemma's alive! I've been wondering how they were going to play this. We discover that Charlie is holding her hostage in his basement in Brooklyn. I like Gemma and was hoping they'd bring her back so I'm not disappointed but there was a lot of blood at that crime scene. How did she survive her attack with no medical attention, being held in a basement, and fed a diet of bologna.
 
Malcolm uncovers Charlie's lies and realises that Charlie isn't who he says he is. He finds proof that he is actually John Delario and tells Bridget.

Malcolm breaks into Charlie/John's place in Brooklyn and just misses finding Gemma when Charlie comes back.

As happy as I am that Malcolm has more of a role than being tied to a chair (is it sad to say I assumed he was the one Charlie was holding in the basement?)  I'm still not connecting with his character. 
Bridget certainly needs a friend to talk to so we know what's going on in her head but I'm simply bored with all of the Malcolm scenes. I was hoping he'd find Gemma and liven things up but no such luck.

Olivia visits Henry and tries to get his father in law's number from his cell phone when she stumbles across a compromising picture of him and Siobhan. She e-mails the photo from his phone. This didn't seem very realistic to me. She finds the photo in the middle of his every day photos and photos of his children. Surely if you were having an affair you would hide the photos a bit better than that? But then I guess this will now make an interesting story line and Olivia wont be such a pointless character.

So Olivia has got the photo. Olivia would willing blow up Andrew's marriage to close a deal. Of course it doesn't hurt that she hates his wife. I'd preach that all pictures should be destroyed after an affair's over or like I said above, at least hiding and not next to photos of your children, but poor Henry was hoping for a reconciliation up until last week.  Still, if Gemma doesn't turn up soon this won't look good for him either.

I'd hate to see Andrew get his heart broken but I can't imagine what story Bridget will weave to get out of this one. Of course that doesn't mean she won't have a good one. 

Jimmy works for Siobhan? Who I hear you asking. Jimmy was the FBI agent in episode 1 that was protecting Bridget and he ended up tied up in the bathroom with his gun missing. Seriously, this is the one I find hardest to believe. Siobhan paid off the FBI agent protecting her sister in order to get her to run. Why would Siobhan have this kind of reach? What's her overall plan and how many people are involved in this conspiracy? It's all become so complex and again raising more questions than answers but it keeps me glued to it

Ringer (US TV Series) Review - Season 1 Episode 8 - Spoiler Alert

Maybe We Can Get a Dog Instead?

Okay, after last week's episode I had a theory about Bridget being pregnant with Malcolm's baby but once I saw the title of episode 8 I knew that wouldn't be the case. 'Maybe We Can Get a Dog Instead' that is obviously something someone would say when they found out that they wouldn't be getting a baby. My money is was on Juliet saying it and I was right.

The ultrasound shows Bridget isn't pregnant. The doctor assumes it was an ectopic pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage. Andrew is upset and even Juliet is sympathetic while Bridget hides her relief.

Henry admits he'd hoped the baby would give him a second chance with Siobhan. Now he's done.

Angry, hurt, confused. That describes all of the men of Ringer this week. Bridget and Siobhan had the boys spinning out of control.
Dodging a bullet. That was exactly what Bridget did with that ultrasound. When the doctor wrote it off as an early miscarriage, Bridget could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for the other people in her life. Granted, Juliet wasn't heartbroken but she was sad. There's something missing from their lives and she was hoping the baby could fill that gap. "Maybe We Can Get a Dog Instead?" No one could say Juliet wasn't flexible.

The two men in Bridget's life took the news hard. Henry finally gave up on Siobhan when his hope for a second chance died with the supposed baby. But Andrew wanted to try again. Wouldn't it be interesting if Bridget said yes? That would be quite the complication if/when the truth comes out. However, for the time being she doesn't want to try again.

Tyler (the real Siobhan's boyfriend) flies to New York for a meeting with Andrew. He sees Bridget and is furious. He mistakes her for Cora (aka Siobhan) and thinks she's playing him. He breaks up with Cora (Siobhan) over the phone and kicks her out of his hotel. This completely messes up Siobhan's plan (whatever that actually is). She wasn't expecting Tyler to bump into Bridget. Are you managing to keep up with everyone's name and who they are pretending to be? Bridget / Siobhan and Siobhan / Cora.

Mistaken identity gone sideways. I never saw that one coming. I guessed that Tyler had some connection to Andrew, since he has papers with Andrew's company's name on, and this was why Siobhan was cozying up to him but who thought that that connection would run him straight into Bridget? However, he didn't realise that there was two of them. He had just left Siobhan (Cora) in Paris and bumped into Bridget in New York and assumed that they were the same person. But I guess you can't really blame him for that.

So Tyler believed that his new girlfriend was jumping back and forth between continents to sleep with him. If the twins weren't dead ringers for one another I'd say he thought an awful lot of himself. I suppose there are only so many explanations and the truth wouldn't be the first thing one would think of.

Machado has Bridget wear a wire and meet with Malcolm but she manages to warn Malcolm and Machado learns nothing.

Malcolm can't control his need for heroin and asks Bridget for help.  She brings him to Charlie, her new sponsor and Siobhan's right hand man.

Malcolm can't win. It looked like Malcolm was sticking around and he needed help. Unfortunately, Bridget's help could bring them both down. She just introduced the junkie who knows all of her secrets to her new sponsor and Siobhan's right hand man. What could go wrong?

I have to say that Andrew was very understanding about Malcolm. At heart, Andrew seems like a good guy. So what deep dark secrets does he hide that sent Siobhan running to another continent? The more we see of Andrew the more he appears to be a nice guy. So far I haven't even thought of a theory as to why Siobhan had an affair with Henry and then left both of them for Paris and went to so much trouble to cover her tracks.

Juliet has a crush on her teacher. Of course she does and we all know that this is going to end badly.