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I don't want Elias to be dead, but I can accept it if that turns out to be the situation, since he at least got the satisfaction of avenging Anthony and besting Dominic before he went. I loved the conversation between Elias and Dominic in the back of the police car -- a brief moment of almost solidarity between the fellow crime bosses, then Dominic tries to be intimidating and Elias responds with his trademark bemusement ("Are you saying you would make my stay inhospitable?"), then Elias proves that he does, indeed, still have a few friends left. Since the sniper left after shooting Elias, and Fusco is on the scene, I suppose he can call for help. So I guess that leaves a chance for Elias' survival. If he does live, I wonder if he will feel any kind of indebtedness toward Fusco.

Well, the way she was introduced was pretty awful. At first, they wrote and directed her as a one-note bad ass, yet shoved her down our throats like she was special. I think this kind of introduction pushes feminist buttons (oh, the male characters get to be both tough and interesting, but females not so much -- we're supposed to be content with yet another bad-ass-brunette . . .). But then, over the course of a season or two, she developed into a great character. I was hooked on her when she saved Lionel's son, the way she talked to him on the phone afterwards. And now I very much want her to be reunited with the team.

It's amazing how the writers can get us cheering so hard for characters who are technically bad guys to win out over other, less appealing, bad guys. As much as I liked Link, Elias' showing Dominic exactly how it feels to be responsible for the death of a friend ("Be careful what you wish for") was beautiful. And I love how the difference between Elias and Dominic reflected The Machine's moral development. To Dominic, his people are a means to an end. Even the ones he likes (Link) are essentially replaceable. Not so for Elias. Heck, Elias won't even sell out a frienemy like Finch. To be fair to Finch, when he held that The Machine saw humans as replaceable, that wasn't so much identifying a flaw as acknowledging that his training of her was successful. He worked hard to convince her that he himself was not special, that her job was to save everybody.

Yep, at that moment I thought, "And this is why she didn't tell you first." Her fear that he would kill her was a bit irrational, but it might have been an expression of her much more reasonable fear that he would stop loving her. Saying "I love you" doesn't help much, if you walk out the door. Of course it wasn't fair of Juliette to demand that Nick kiss her when she's all hexenbiesty, but my estimation of him would have increased tenfold if he had sucked it up and did it.

All he needs is a gold bikini. LOL. I guess a giant chain would help, too. OK, now I feel guilty . . . But seriously, poor Dillon. His life, at the start of the show, was awful, and it just got worse. When they were in in California, apparently his family did not rescue him from the situation as a teenager. But at least he had one cousin who gave a damn about him. She expressed interest in his welfare, and she put her money where her mouth is by taking on bath duty a couple of times a week. Don't know what was going on with the older generation in that family, but at least Dillon wasn't completely alone. Then they moved to Houston, and he was.

Yep -- giant mess of an episode, but one that may position the show to dig itself out of the greater mess it has become, so it could be worth it. This! And what I loved even more was the scene where we get glimpses of various potential witches being briefly awakened, and bookstore lady was one of them. She's into obscure knowledge and likes to be surrounded by cats -- totally a witch! (I write this in my book-filled room, with two cats curled up next to me ;-)

Although there were some adorable moments and coolly creepy moments, I was pretty unhappy with this episode. A lot of it felt like the writers realized that the show used to actually pass the Bechdel test with flying colors -- i.e., it regularly had female characters sharing scenes in which they discussed things other than men -- and they decided they wanted to reverse that. So, this week we get some Abbie and Jenny scenes, but most of their conversation is about relationships with men: How are Abbie and Ichabod doing? Does Jenny like Hawley? Please stop. Other dialogue in the episode just felt clunky and self-aware, and not in a good way. Like the characters were mouthing words to address writer-selected themes, such as the distance in the Abbie/Ichabod relationship. That said, I was very much engaged in the Irving sub-plot (though also confused about whether or not he and Cynthia are together). And I absolutely loved it when, after identifying the Kali hand-shapes, Abbie says, "Thank-you, yoga class." And Ichabod mutters, "I'm not going back." Hee! Traditionally, androids have human-like forms (the word 'android' includes the root 'andr', which means 'man') and robots could go either way, be human-like or not -- two famous examples of human-like beings called 'robots' were in I, Robot, and in the original robot story, Rossum's Universal Robots. But it would be unusual to apply the term 'android' to a being like R2-D2, who does not have a human-like form. Of course, in Star Wars, all mechanical beings are called 'droids', which is presumably short for 'androids' -- though I don't think we ever hear the whole word 'andriod' in Star Wars. But that's just the terminology in the movie, not necessarily how, outside the movie, one would describe the characters. The point is, Abbie wasn't wrong: the terms robot/android are used inconsistently, and she picked the more typical application of 'robot'. And now I totally want a scene of Abbie and Ichabod watching Star Wars . . . ;-)

I liked a lot of things about this episode. First, obviously, the re-Grimming of Nick. But also lots of little stuff, such as Juliette asking Nick if this is what he wants, and him answering with an almost relieved, 'Yes!', and Juliette replying definitively 'Then that's what I want.' Both of them seemed like a burden had been lifted from them, with the decision made. That cute scene in the kitchen after "doing the deed" was nice, too. I thought Claire Coffee's rendition of Juliette was not quite as good as Bitsie Tulloch's rendition of Adelind, but it was pretty good, nonetheless. I like how Wu manages to convey that he is still suspicious of Nick, by looking at Hank rather than Nick when he addresses them. And Theresa's hugging Juliette and Nick was adorable. Two things I didn't like: There was seriously weird writing and pacing in that scene when Josh and Theresa are talking about Nick's current situation -- soap opera dramatic pauses . . . ugh. And I don't mind Adelind selling out Nick and company, but it seemed like she also told Viktor about Meissner, or at least seemed utterly unconcerned when Viktor was talking about catching him. Last season, I got the sense that she genuinely liked him :-(

In the short term, having taken out Dominic's number 2 would seem like more of a win for team Elias. But, in the long run, having planted the seeds of betrayal could be way more valuable. If Dominic's number does come up, I wonder if our guys will just let it go. Of course, Dominic might bring the fight to them before that. He seems to believe he can out-think the guy represented by the question mark card denoting Reece's boss. You may be smart, Dominic, but you're not Harold smart! Of course, Dominic doesn't know that all he needs to do to take down Reese and company is to expose them to Samaritan.

It's amazing how much this show can make me care about a character who has had hardly any lines, and who works for one of the "bad guys". But I was completely sold on saving Anthony. I strongly suspected he would die, but still held out hope. And I have no problem with Elias exacting bloody vengeance. I loved how they set up the relationship between Elias and Anthony a couple of episodes back, when Anthony shoots that guy who Elias wanted to question, and just says "Sorry Boss" -- his tone respectful, but familiar, as if he regretted possibly inconveniencing a friend, not as if he feared the displeasure of a dangerous crime boss. When Dominic's thugs are threatening and beating Anthony, it was beautifully clear that he would never betray Elias. Elias' reaction to Anthony being shot, and later killed, was lovely; he seemed vulnerable in a way we haven't seen before. I was kind of neutral on him in past seasons, but now I kind of love him. It would be awesome if Anthony's comments to Link end up turning the tide in this war. You could definitely see in Link's expression in that scene, and later when Dominic said the gang members who died were replaceable, that he is starting to think about whether he would lay down his life for Dominic (btw, excellent acting by the guy who plays Link). If that does happen, it would be nice if he gets to convey that to Elias.

Closed Captioning is your friend, Snarky Tart and Trey. Warning: once you start, it's hard to go back. Even if the sound quality on a show is good, closed captioning draws attention to lines that might be mired in background noise. This may be wishful thinking, but I don't think the show will kill off Elias. The "old lion" still has some tricks left, I believe. However, I'm with DeLurker in worrying about Scarface. In terms of narrative, it would make sense for the writers to kill off Scarface -- they've established that he is on comfortable, maybe even friendly terms with his boss. I think Dominic bumping him off would hurt Elias, which would up the intensity of their feud. Really? Did we see Dominic in that episode? That would be awesome!

Yeah, while I hate the fact that Headless has become Abraham the witless fool, I like it that Henry is aware of this fact. Abraham thinks that Katrina has come over to the dark side? Henry's not buying it. He's got daddy issues and mommy issues, but he's not that dumb. I don't think that a character (who has already been established as somewhat passive) not taking immediate action proves that she fell for the ruse. But I absolutely love the term 'demon psoriasis' :-) My favorite scene of the episode was when Abby and Jenny are about to watch the video of their mother. Jenny says she can't do it. In any other show, the hero would either benevolently excuse the sidekick, or would brow-beat her into watching for her own good. This show? No way. Abbie says they will watch it together, but she's not coercing Jenny, and it is not only for Jenny's good -- Abbie needs her, too. And then they hold hands, like they did when they were girls. Beautiful!

I can't believe this, but I'm going to defend Katrina. Not in the big picture -- I agree that the writers don't know what to do with her, generally, and that her scenes tend to drag down the episodes, and that Willow was a way more competent red-haired witch ;-) But with respect to Baby Moloch, I think her reactions made sense. Last week, she had the vision, and then, at the end of the episode, she looks down at the baby (with Henry right there) and gives a hesitant smile. This week, she makes a half-hearted attempt to question how the baby got there, and reluctantly picks it up at Henry's behest. All of this seems to me like someone who knows it is a demon baby, but does not want Henry to know that she knows. If she really thought Henry had kidnapped a baby for nefarious purposes, she would have put up more of a fuss about returning it. Then, yes, she did not immediately try to kill it. Doing so would have been unwise. For one thing, she might not know what precisely will kill it. Would dashing it to the floor even work? And if it doesn't work, she would have shown her hand, and would never have another opportunity to kill it. When she noticed the discoloration on her neck, I don't think she thought, for the first time, "It's a demon baby!" Rather, she thought, "Contact with the demon baby is doing something immediately harmful to me, so I don't have time to wait for the best opportunity, I need to try to kill it now with the materials available." And so that's what she set out to do, only to be thwarted by its growth spurt. I don't love this story line, and I'll grant that the writers have given us reason to doubt Katrina's competence, but I'm not seeing any particularly idiotic decisions here on her part.

The shaman did not seek out a volunteer; he chose someone in his village. Perhaps the boy nominally agreed, due to the shaman's influence over the people, but he was not presented as a consenting adult. His tongue needed to be cut out, lest he (under the demon's influence maybe) curse the shaman. Though Constantine manipulated Gary, Gary did agree to do it in the end. Perhaps that is why Constantine did not feel the need to cut out his tongue -- the chances that he would curse Constantine were lower. Not zero, but lower -- enough that John couldn't bring himself to cut out his mate's tongue, maybe. This episode was gross, which I didn't like. But it was also dark and complex, which I did like. Another show would have Gary show up, independently, after Constantine's attempt to contain the demon failed, and nobly sacrifice himself without the hero roping him into it. Sad, but no hard moral choices required. Alternatively, the show could have had Constantine not give Gary any choice in the matter. That level of coldness can sometimes work in a novel or graphic novel, but I think it would go too far for a new TV series, in terms of alienating the main character from the audience. Instead, John is clearly somewhat morally culpable for Gary's torturous death, yet he doesn't quite become a moral monster. Typically, I find Manny to be a bit smug and annoying, but I liked him and John in the last scene.

Simple: make Headless . . . headless again. The Abraham back-story transformed the character from an awesome badass to a pathetic fop. It also opened the door to Katrina as damsel in distress, and other annoying Crane Family Drama. So, kill off his soul -- or redeem his soul, whatever -- but leave the Headless body behind.

I'm not bothered by Renardmom not looking her age. We saw Adelind putting leeches on her face in season 1, apparently as a beauty treatment, so I suppose a skilled Hexenbiest like Elizabeth has her method of looking youthful. I'm really enjoying the rapport between Renard and his mom. They seem to . . . dare I say it . . . like and care about each other, in a healthy way -- not something we've seen a lot of in Hexenbiests or Royals. Though she looks like his sister, she acts like his mother, telling him to stay in bed, being tickled to have a grand-baby, etc. I was annoyed at the poor judgement the gang showed in telling Bud that Nick had been de-Grimmed. But then they all got that look on their faces, like what the hell were we thinking, so that made it better -- at least they knew that they'd screwed up. I was amused at the beginning, when Juliette and Wu are hauling Nick off to the doctor, and Nick says, "I'm not going to fall down." and Juliette replies, "You kind of just did." It was nice seeing Trubel with Clay, interacting with someone around her own age for a change.

I, too, am not completely sold, but am liking it better each week. This episode was fun, with an intriguing mystery and humorous moments. I love Chas. Zed is fine -- I like her narrative better than that of the woman from the pilot. I didn't mind Constantine's goof with the ear buds, because I assumed he went with what he had in his bag -- music and all! -- not having time to go out shopping for true ear plugs. The show committed one of my pet peeve tropes: having a random character just happen to know American Sign Language. That said, it wasn't too bad: she didn't have to say or understand too much, so we didn't need to pretend she was fluent or anything -- just someone who might have taken a class somewhere along the line. And the camera stayed mostly on the actor who portrayed the deaf character, who signed well. When Constantine doesn't think things through, screws up, and is saved by others, he reminds me a little of Harry Dresden, from the Dresden Files novels :-)

That reminds me -- I love Bell :-) His needling of Sherlock, staring at him, saying "you're really back" was awesome!

I don't think the father was intentionally covering for the FBI agent. The father decided to take the blame for the crime so that his ex-wife would see him as someone who took action to kill the man whose actions killed their son. Apparently the father's inability to do anything after the boy's death (sounds like depression) contributed to the break-up of their marriage, loss of his job, etc.

Last week Kitty didn't bug me too much; this week she kind of did. But it was more the writing surrounding her than the character herself. This week they kept beating us over the head with what a special snowflake she is: the requisite Tragic Past, the social skills that ostensibly push others away but actually attract attention to herself, the remarkable raw talent. Sigh. And, of course, she had to be a step ahead of Sherlock and Joan, though she got there by intuitive leaps rather than refined deductive processes: she picked up on the fact that the DA was involved in the plot, and that the pips themselves were significant to the FBI agent's motive. On the one hand, I don't like it because it feels like the writers are trying to shove her awesomeness down our throats, and I want her to just go away. On the other hand, I don't like it because it feels like they are setting her up to be killed or otherwise booted off the show -- attach to her quickly, audience, for she won't be here for long and we want her death (or exile back to London) to seem meaningful! Though that would resolve the problem of what to do with the character so that we can get the show back on track, I'm not keen on having an already-victimized female character re-victimized. Shifting topics a little, I wonder if we will ever see Sherlock's sponsor and sponsee again. I loved Alfredo, and I liked what having some responsibility brought out in Sherlock when he was trying to be a sponsor himself. And I would understand THEM being upset about Sherlock's abrupt departure. This isn't directly relevant to the current episode, but whenever I see Sherlock trying to be a mentor to Kitty, it makes me think of the semi-mentoring relationship with his sponsee that he presumably broke off when he left the country. Actually, it would be kind of awesome if we learn that he did not break off these relationships, but stayed in contact with them.

Yes, I was thinking the same thing. In the original stories, Holmes apparently dies and is gone for an extended period of time. Then he comes back and, somewhat insensitively, surprises Watson by appearing to him in disguise and then dramatically shedding his disguise. Interestingly, if this is what this week's episode is meant to reference, I think both the BBC and Elementary botched it. In the original story, Holmes pulls his surprise appearance, Watson nearly faints, and Holmes immediately feels bad and apologises for his lack of consideration, and Watson harbors no ill will toward him. On Sherlock, Sherlock surprises Watson, but when Watson is upset, Sherlock mocks him for overreacting, and really shows no remorse throughout that episode. On Elementary, Sherlock's transgression is arguably less (they didn't think he was dead, just in England), he shows up unannounced, though not in a prank-like way, and while he is apologetic, Watson isn't having any of it. In Joan's defense, the whole I-realized-that-I'm-an-awesome-mentor-and-that-you-can-be-replaced thing was pretty obnoxious.

I thought there were four bullets used in the elevator -- at least, that was what was shown in Sherlock's little Diorama of Death. That makes it slightly more plausible that one or two would hit the intended targets. Still not a sure thing . . . Maybe I missed the last episode of last season, but I found myself puzzled as to why all the characters now seem to detest Sherlock. Sure, he's a jerk, but he's always been a jerk. OK, he left without saying good-bye . . . not nice, but not so surprising. I get Joan being pissed at him about that, but this seemed more than that -- like she stopped caring about him completely. And I don't get Gregson's reaction at all -- why so cold? Sherlock was a consultant, not a regular employee, so why is his leaving such a big deal to the Captain? Again, a bit of anger I would understand, but this cutting off all emotional attachment to him seemed extreme. Unless Sherlock spent the last season finale kicking people's puppies, the emotional notes of the episode felt a bit off.

Yup. I had friends who had missed too much of season one to get on board during the season, who were ready to do a summer binge . . . once the DVDs came out . . . which didn't happen. Nobody has time once the school year starts, and we don't care to deal with On Demand or pay Hulu. So Fox just threw away a few potential fans. Seriously, this show ended early enough last season that there is no reason (except short-sighted greed) to not make the DVDs available during the summer lull. It's a good thing the show is so popular, because it seems like they are doing their best to make it NOT succeed!