Slovenly Muse

I'm not sure about this. Maybe someone who was paying closer attention, or who read the book, can tell me, but it sounded like Haven was Roper's big humanitarian project, which was presented to the world as providing aid to civilians/refugees, and therefore brought in money from legitimate sources for humanitarian aid. The reality, though, is that the refugees are used as "set dressing" to sell the illusion while the bulk of the money goes to fund the mercenary army Roper has raised. (Actually, as an unscrupulous army-for-hire, his mercenaries should serve as a further source of income for Roper, right? I bet the money he makes renting out their services pays for their wages and then some!) I wish we'd gotten more information about the complexity of his operation at Haven, and how it relates to his public persona, because that could be really fascinating. Maybe the book goes into greater detail. I'd love to know!

Yes, the fries thing is dumb. No way would Bob not have a plan for that. (Though the fact that he doesn't could be an indicator of why the business isn't doing so well.) Tina's camp experience, however, gave me the feels in the best way. Horses are tricky animals, and Tina's experience is not uncommon! I went to a riding camp as a kid (older than Tina, though), and got the old temperamental horse who was totally over being ridden (she wasn't dangerous and didn't throw people, she just didn't acknowledge that there was anyone on her back, or tried to scrape off her riders, which made her difficult to control). I loved it! She took me through bushes and bumped my knees into tree trunks, and actually scraped me off her back once going under a tree (left me dangling from thick branch), but I dusted myself off and got back on. I totally bonded with her, and chose her for every ride, even when I could have picked a different horse! I enjoyed the unpredictability of the ride! Tina's experience was totally my childhood. Actually, come to think of it, The Black Stallion was one of my very favourite movies as a kid, and, while I didn't have an imaginary horse, I DID have a jar of spare change on my shelf that I intended to one day use to buy a horse (which was going to be black and named "Midnight"), so maybe we're not so different after all! Anyway, I'm not trying to defend the counsellor, who should definitely have let Tina ride a different horse (even changing it up for everyone from time to time would be good), just saying that I had a very similar experience as a kid that I now look back on as one of the fondest memories of my youth. And somehow I think Tina will too!

Wow, I totally disagree with the comments so far. Sure, the writing isn't perfect, and logic is stretched in a few places, but I think the series is playing out the story very effectively. Roper may not be the most physically-intimidating villain, but he doesn't need to be. His strength is in using other people's hands to do his dirty work. Even if he was the towering sort who could take on all of MI6 one-handed, he WOULDN'T. Because he always keeps his hands clean, and that makes him untouchable. Roper's intimidation factor is that if he doesn't like or trust you, then you are dead. And it won't come from him personally, it'll come from a corner you're not expecting. He doesn't DO things. He makes things happen. His ability to manipulate and intellectually outmanoeuvre his enemies is what makes him so intimidating. His mild physical presence is just the disguise he wears to convince the world he is a harmless humanitarian. The attack on Angela's husband (and her operation) makes sense in this context as well, if you assume that Roper is behind it. He trades in weakness. He bets not on his own strength, but on the weakness of his opponents, and it usually pays off. Demonstrating to Angela that her co-workers and superiors are in his pocket, and there's nothing she can do about it and no one she can report it to (and no way to protect herself from them), is designed to put her off-balance and feed the intrinsic desire to join the "winning" side that it seems many of her colleagues have succumbed to. He is betting that her weakness will get the better of her and she will cave the way others have. He doesn't understand her drive to stop him. He doesn't understand emotions getting in the way of the logical, safe thing to do, because he doesn't have real emotions, real attachments, the way she does. The way he treats Jed proves this. He tells her he "loves" her, when in reality, he doesn't love her at all. He keeps her around like a pet so that he can have the trappings of love (a woman who will be kind to him, and available to him whenever he wants, and appear with him in public to increase his status and legitimize his false persona) without any of the inconvenient realities of love (like caring whether the person lives or dies). In fact, considering his use of intermediaries and cats-paws, it wouldn't surprise me if he had someone working very closely with Angela, an agent of his own on the inside of her operation, and the attack on her husband was actually DESIGNED to provoke her into acting emotionally and making a mistake that his operatives could use to discredit her and shut her down for good: Goading her into making a mistake the way she is using Pine to do the same to him. In fact, Roper may have known all along that Pine was working for her, and has been using Pine against her from the start. The interesting thing about this episode is that it raised a lot of potential. We don't quite know what everyone knows about each other, or what they suspect, or how they have been preparing for conflict (e.g., there's no way Roper believes Corky was the mole: The man had been so deep in his organization for so long that if he really did decide to turn on Roper, he would actually be able to take him down, rather than falling for Roper's usual tricks - but who Roper truly suspects and what he intends to do about it remains to be seen), but there are many ways things can play out from here, and we are poised on the brink of possibility! I suppose the next episode will actually determine whether or not these possibilities have been effectively set up to play out in intensely satisfying ways, or if it's all been a jumbled, incoherent waste of time. Both are definitely possible, but I'm not prepared to judge until I see how this all resolves!

I agree, this ep was disappointing. It reminded me a bit of the early season one episodes, actually, which I found to be full of great ideas, but often lacking the "punch" needed to really land those points. It wasn't until I pushed through to the later episodes, where Amy had more or less figured out how to drive home her point using strong punchlines, that I started really loving the show. This episode definitely took me back! On the one hand, I'm not worried, because I feel like this is a problem the show has solved before. But on the other hand... if they solved it before, how is it still a problem? Did only one of the writers know how to use punchlines, and they left? Why are we back where we started? I'm trying to withhold judgment on the season until I've actually seen, you know, the SEASON, but this is not a strong start. Hopefully next week will see a return to form!

This bothers me too. It's starting to feel like she was only written in for one episode and then promptly forgotten. I'm genuinely curious what the story is there. Like, did ONE writer invent her for their episode, even though it was inconvenient to show canon and slightly contradictory to what had been established thus far, and then everyone else had to try and write around it, pretending she never happened, but not actually retconning her out of existence? Or was this a calculated move to introduce more of Dre's family, but no one's quite figured out how to really fit her in to the picture yet? Or did the actress suddenly become super-unavailable and now they have to avoid creating opportunities for her to appear? WHAT IS HAPPENING?! I wanted to love this episode, but it REALLY bugged me that Dre's sister was never considered for custody. There was no reason given, just Bow saying no "out of spite" because HER sister wasn't an option. Even though Dre's sister is in a stable relationship, has a stable job, and is financially and, well, psychologically, in the best place to look after the kids if necessary, she was never even on the table, and it should have been a no-brainer. And I don't think the writers were taking an "anti-gay-adoption" stance so much as just handwaving away this character they already don't seem to want to have to make a plan for what to do with, so they could manufacture a ridiculous mom-off. Bit if Bow was ready to consider RUBY by the end, there's no way Dre's sister should have been overlooked. I know it's a comedy, and calm reasoning is generally expected to fly out the window for the sake of humourous shenanigans, but still, it was perplexing.

I'm interested to see what will happen when Sara finds out. What this show needs is a Winchester-like cycle of one sibling dying, and the other bringing them back to life through some shady method, and the one resenting them for it, but then being unable to resist doing the same thing themselves when the other dies, over and over again until the fans riot. I feel nothing over the death of Laurel. But this show just killed off Black Canary. Unforgivable. Basically doubling-down on their original mistake of not just MAKING SARA BLACK CANARY. Seriously! Don't adapt a hugely beloved character for your show if you're going to treat her this way! Unless Sara ends up becoming Black Canary as a tribute to her sister, and then it's all fixed.... Huh. So simple to do. So unlikely it will actually happen in a satisfactory manner.

Knowing this show? Pretty sure Adalind will be the one getting pregnant with Rachel's baby. I mean, it's not like they're making an effort to find her anything ELSE to do, right?

I agree that there is an attempt to give Stephen more interaction, but I'm not sure that's the whole of it. I kind of like the way Stephen involves some backstage folks in the on-camera action. It almost feels like his version of sharing the spotlight - since it has been remarked upon that Stephen tends to make himself the centre of attention, and can't seem to help himself, that his way of attempting to address this, rather than to step back a little (which he just can't do), is to bring some of the usually-invisible crew into the spotlight with him, to demonstrate the team effort that goes into making the show. Like instead of saying, "No, don't chant my name," he's saying "Chant these names too!" I'm noticing more of a trend in talk shows and comedy shows to give some slight credit and attention to the team that works behind the scenes. It's common wisdom, when you are hired as a writer or crew member for a show with a "star," that your job is to contribute your talents and efforts completely invisibly, in order to make the star look as good as possible. The illusion created is that the star is brilliant, witty, talented, etc, and is so naturally, on his own. If the audience can see you doing your job, or see your fingerprints on the material, then it pokes holes in the illusion of the "one man show" and you are considered to have done your job poorly. Remember when people would try and discredit Jon Stewart by pointing out that he had a team of writers behind him? As if deflating the image of the man or pulling back the curtain on the machinery would somehow invalidate the points that Jon AND his team of writers were making? Nowadays, I feel like the industry as a whole is getting a bit more comfortable talking about and giving credit to the team of people that work pretty thanklessly to make that one star look good. I think Stephen is fully embracing (maybe leading) this trend, and I enjoy the way he deflects a bit of the adoration/attention that he gets to those who wouldn't normally be noticed. Things like chatting with his producer, introducing the guy holding the lever, crediting his stylist when told he looks good... he's poking holes in his own illusion, which is really disorienting for a lot of viewers, because it's completely against the long-established expectations of this kind of show, but also kind of refreshing! Plus I find it interesting to get a little taste of the behind-the-scenes world. (I've been enjoying Nick Rheinwald-Jones' Making the Sausage podcast for this reason too!) Besides, his producer makes a better conversational foil for him than Jon Batiste, and after those early attempts at "having a producer meeting on air" which was weird and a bit off-putting, they seem to be finding their footing with how they want to integrate the crew a little more naturally. I'm enjoying it!

Rick and Co.: Fighting Evil, So You Don't Have To!

Wow, I'm surprised to see so many people upset about all the fuss being made over guys who are actually guilty! From everything I've seen on these boards over the past few (increasingly dismal) seasons, I thought this is what everyone would want! Finally, Mike and Harvey face the music for what they've done. This isn't about wanting them to get away with it because they "deserve" to, and shrugging off the fact that they're guilty. The showrunner knows they're guilty (and has pointed out in interviews that Anita Gibbs is right, making her kind of the unsung hero of the season), THEY know they're guilty, and the point now is to put them through the wringer for it, and force them to admit their own wrongdoing, if only to themselves. The problem is, the secret has grown so big now, and so many people are involved, that Mike and Harvey can't just shrug it off and say "oh, well, they caught us. It was a good run." Because now if they are found guilty, the people they love the most will also have to face the consequences for their actions. I thought this episode did a really good job of making it clear that Mike and Harvey were not out for themselves here. The reason they are fighting so hard to get a verdict of "not guilty" is because if convicted, they'd be taking down the whole firm, Jessica, Donna, Louis, possibly Scottie and Rachel, and everyone and everything they care about, which is only in the line of fire because of what THEY did all those years ago. To the point where they are now basically forced to throw themselves on their own swords or risk consequences to the people they love. Seeing Mike and Harvey kind of tortured for what they did and what they brought on everyone else has been actually really satisfying, and I don't get the impression at all that the show wants them to get away with it because they "should," but because there's so much more at stake now that so many people have been brought in on it that if they just take the hit that they know they deserve, it will hurt the people they'd do anything to protect. I don't see how. Mike maintained that he was legitimately a lawyer, but was a "fraud" in that he had betrayed the reasons he wanted to get into law in the first place, by serving corporate interests at PSL over people in need (letting the jury see the raw truth of his feelings without actually TELLING the whole truth). Would this have been more convincing if he'd talked about his parents, the way Rachel wanted him to? Maybe, but it probably also would have sounded manipulative, so this statement was probably the right call. I don't know the law very well (or at all), but I don't see how that statement would have reflected poorly on the firm, which everyone knows is corporate.

I'm pretty much over Cisco's "concern" that Caitlyn might be leaning towards Killer Frost's path. What an enormous hypocrite. I couldn't stomach his attitude, knowing that he was a villain as well on E-2 (and Reverb was even worse than KF), but his concern was not about what "their" experiences could cause "them" to become, but only whether CAITLYN might be turning into a supervillain because.. of her legitimate reason to be sad? What a load of patronizing BS. Unless you're equally concerned about yourself turning evil, give it a freaking rest. Damn, Barry really is carrying the weight of the world. An entire world that he sealed up and left to the mercy of his enemy. I'm glad he decided not to give up on taking down Zoom. Apart from the fate of E-2, leaving things as they are would eat Barry up inside and he would never be the same. I totally understand Barry and Wally's awkwardness around each other (whom they perceive to be the "real" son), but it is not the most fun to watch. I'd like to see how Wally integrates with the family when all the necessary bridges have been built and they can all just relax and be on each other's side. I know it'll take awhile to get there, because drama, but I don't think I'll be totally into this storyline until it does. Also, not knowing who is who anymore and what Jay belongs to what world, I'm totally tempted to start calling Zoom "Alt-Jay." Until Cisco comes up with something less obscure ;)

Yep, that would be it! And it seems I'm also thinking of Brazil. What a world.

Yes, this is such a scary topic. I've been reading some articles about the Zika virus and its possible impact on abortion laws around the world. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that any positive shifts in attitude towards making abortion more accessible will take place, but then, you never know. There is a country (I can't remember which one specifically, but it's probably not alone anyway) in South America where abortion is impossible to obtain, and birth control nearly as difficult. The government's response to the rising crisis of difficult and scary Zika pregnancies is to advise women not to get pregnant "until the year 2018." While providing zero birth control options and keeping abortion strictly off the table. You know. To "protect women's health." Personally, I think every lawmaker who votes to restrict access to abortion should be forced to adopt a percentage of all babies given up for adoption in their state. Since they believe forcing parenthood upon someone is acceptable when there is the well-being of a (potential) child to consider, it should be a no-brainer. Or maybe Mary Lou Marzian's approach is best. That woman is a goddamn American hero.

This entire series... wow.

While I am also having a hard time getting any enjoyment out of this show anymore, I have to say, this is the first episode that really made me feel anxious about the stakes involved in this trial. With more and more people either seeming to know or believe "the secret," the possibility of people we hadn't even considered participants in the conspiracy suffering the consequences of it are starting to make me actually care. While Mike, Harvey and Jessica are never going to prison (obviously), the idea that Harold, Benjamin, Jenny, or... what's his name? Jimmy? might actually be affected by this thing. These people are way more likely to lose everything or do time for their involvement (or potential involvement), since they're already basically absent from the show, and surprisingly (very surprisingly), I think I would actually... care? If that happened? Huh. Suddenly it feels like there's something at stake here. If only they hadn't turned the whole thing into some nonsensical "Mike vs. Harvey" fight, as if they were actually against each other - which is a weird episodic plot considering the major through-line of this story is about how unshakably loyal they are to each other. Way to fall back on a tired formula AND undercut your own story. The pseudo-legal bullshit isn't helping either. (Thanks for clearing that up, Chicago Redshirt!) However, I did kind of admire the way Anita Gibbs used Donna to completely call Jessica's preposterous bluff about ALL her people being willing to swear on the stand that Mike went to Harvard. That was well-played.

It's funny, I've seen a lot of mentions on these boards about Jon's little comments and interruptions, but honestly, I love his contributions. Jon is a major draw for me on this show. I adore his music, and his energy, and even his interactions with Stephen. It's like, Jon and Stephen just have very different styles, almost like they speak different languages. And every time Stephen asks Jon a question, and Jon responds with some vague nonsense about being "on a vibe," I know EXACTLY what he means, like he's totally speaking my language, and then I find myself getting a bit irritated with Stephen for pushing him for a more factual, direct, Stephen-style answer. I agree their interactions are a bit awkward when they try for banter, but I don't blame Jon for that. I think it's Stephen's job as the host to facilitate that conversation and figure out how to communicate with Jon, rather than expecting Jon to change his style to match Stephen's when HIS job is really the music (and he does it so unbelievably well). I don't think cutting Jon's mic is the way to go. His little comments and "yeah"s have never detracted from Stephen's monologues for me, in fact, Jon is a more reliable source of joy for me on the Late Show than Stephen is, as crazy as that sounds. Some of Stephen's segments have left me shaking my head (that BLT one will live on in my mind for a long time. How wrong-footed was that entire idea?), but whatever Jon is doing on the show ALWAYS makes me glad I tuned in. From what he's wearing, to what he's saying, to the music he's playing, I am all about Jon Batiste! I can't imagine LESS Jon being an improvement. But on the topic of Stephen, I'm glad to see that he's lightening up a little on interrupting his guests. I notice he does interrupt a lot more when he has a celebrity on who is promoting a TV show or movie, but is generally better at letting his guests who are scientists, experts, entrepreneurs, activists, etc, talk more freely about their passions and areas of expertise, and is more content to listen to them share what they do. I know it's kind of annoying to listen to, but I wonder if some actors who are there to promote a project actually PREFER Stephen to dominate the conversation. Often they are obliged to be there, and may not really want to talk about their lives, or say the same thing over and over on every show they appear on, or even really care about the project they're promoting, and they're actually happier when they can't get a word in edgewise and Stephen does all the work for them. This is only speculation, but I have heard some actors express their feelings of awkwardness and anxiety about appearing on talk shows, because what they really excel at is giving a calculated, measured performance in front of a camera (in fact, a lot of great actors who can really internalize the material come across in real life as more withdrawn or "blank slate" personalities. Dynamic extroverts often have a harder time suppressing their natural personalities and fully inhabiting a character), and feel out of their element when expected to "make conversation" and appear spontaneously witty and charming and interesting in what is essentially a televised social situation that could impact their reputation or career if they say the wrong thing. What comes off as arrogance or a need to be the centre of attention on Stephen's part might actually be an attempt to "minimize risk" for the celebrities that appear. However, whatever the reason, it still comes across as a bit obnoxious to the viewers. I'm glad to see that the last few celebrity interviews he's done are flowing a bit more naturally. it's slow-going, but it looks like he is figuring it out.

The fire ship was AWESOME. I love the way this island plot-line is playing out. It really was looking like they were going the "hostile natives" route, which would have been so disappointing. What they're doing now is really satisfying! The highlight, I think, was seeing how Flint has weathered the "storms" (both emotional and literal) of his experiences and come to the realization that his work with the English to bring an end to piracy is now being used against him. That he is effectively caught between two legacies: His legacy as the Englishman who had the vision and guts to take on piracy and restore order in Nassau, and his legacy as the pirate captain who violently rejected English control. It's really something of a turning point for Flint, and it shows just how BRILLIANTLY his character has been constructed from the start. I can't wait to see how this all plays out!

Yes, trying to fit an arc plot AND a COTW in the same episode is really underserving both stories. I didn't care about the ritual, really, but could have found that plot interesting if it had been the focus of the episode and properly fleshed-out. But what drives me crazy is this Black Claw nonsense that is getting dragged out beyond credibility for no reason. Nick and co. want more information about Meisner and especially Eve? Trubel is working closely with both of them, and is ostensibly trustworthy. Why not ask her to explain a little more? Why pretend like they're considering joining this cause because their friend Trubel is on board with it, and then decide they don't know enough to make a decision, but then DON'T SEEK MORE INFORMATION from the person they trust who seems to have access to it? I don't understand this at all. And I STILL don't understand when exactly Trubel learned about Juliette's resurrection as Eve and how she feels about it. They're working closely together in tight quarters. Was she lying to Nick about not knowing "Juliette" was alive? Or has she just now begun working with Eve, and just has no feelings whatsoever about working closely with the stranger inhabiting the reanimated body of the surrogate-big-sister she killed and the man who kept that resurrection from her? And then, on top of squeezing in two plots per episode that are both too bare-bones to be compelling, the show is also carving out screentime for Adalind AND Renard: two characters who have remained on this show (which is not a bad thing, don't get me wrong!) but are doing absolutely nothing. Their scenes feel like placeholders for when the writers decide they want to actually have these characters participate in the story again. The recent X-Files reboot has got me thinking a lot about the amount of supernatural-procedural shows on TV right now, all telling similar stories, and what one show might provide that others can't. Every week I find myself struggling harder to find something compelling that I get from Grimm, that makes it satisfying to watch. It doesn't have leads charismatic enough to distract from the lazy writing, like Sleepy Hollow, or a structure flexible enough to leap from comedy to horror and be genuinely good at both, like The X-Files, or the humour and charm to offset its darker stories, like Limitless, or even the witty, clever, balls-to-the-wall, intricate plotting that actually pays off, like iZombie. It's not delightfully funny, or effectively creepy, or intellectually stimulating, or emotionally affecting. What does Grimm do well? What does it add to the lineup that other shows don't? What is there, at this point, to admire about Grimm? I am genuinely curious to hear what people think, because this show is rapidly losing both my respect and my interest.

The flame was a tether that kept Crane's spirit tied to our world. When the wax burned down he was supposed to have awaken, but Pandora cut his tether and thus the flame went out. The candle relit because Abbie pulled Crane's spirit back from oblivion and thus reestablished the tether. With the wax being burned down and the spirit (Abbie) that Crane was seeking being back in our world he awaken. Oh, ok! This actually makes sense. What I heard/understood was that the candle was SUPPOSED to go out when it burned all the way down, and that when it did, it would pull Crane back to his body. And then all the panic was about how the candle had burned down/gone out as it was supposed to, but Crane wasn't awake, and since the candle hadn't worked, they didn't have another way to get him back. I don't know if it was poorly-explained, or if I just wasn't paying attention (or both). Thanks for filling in the gaps!

Ok, I loved the Abbie/Crane stuff like mad, and Nicole Beharie is freaking brilliant. But the case of the week stuff with Jenny, Joe and New Girl? SO DUMB! I did not understand the weird tension at all. Like, hasn't Jenny been in the supernatural arms trading business for longer than Abbie even knew these things existed? But then New Girl learns about it all, and in a few weeks she's questioning Jenny's expertise and coming up with better ideas on how to fight the things? While Jenny is stumbling around like an amateur? The idea of the "cypher" hidden in the letter was absurd. Not because it was there, but because it was so poorly disguised that it took New Girl less than five seconds to crack it. (Was it seriously as simple as some words being written in a different shade of ink, and those words telling a different story than the whole document? So the entire document was written to contain the words to a story about Betsy Ross and some other pseudo-historical persons being attacked by a Gargoyle? Even for this show, that is ridiculous.) And then they defeat the Gargoyle by tricking it into a giant hole, where it cowers and waits there for Joe to use that one little hose to fill up the entire massive pit (which must have taken quite some time) with, I guess, insta-dry cement, without leaping or flying out (using its wings, maybe?) and attacking them, or just escaping? What? And then to cap it all off, when Crane returns to his body, the candle flickers BACK ON? Even though it is supposed to be lit when he is NOT in his body? Honestly, this was the most lazily, poorly-written episode I've seen in a long time. I know a lot of it was just filler, but the writer seemed way past even phoning it in. I don't know if the Abbie/Crane scenes were actually better written than the rest, or if NB's performance just elevated the material, but I was pretty thoroughly disgusted by the utter lack of thought and care put into the overall story. Or maybe it's just an indicator of how much hand-waving we the audience do on a regular basis when we're too distracted by the amazing chemistry between Abbie and Crane to actually care about the details of what they're doing. Either way, I feel like I just got flashing neon explanation for why Sleepy Hollow will never be appointment television for me, no matter how great NB and TM are doing with what they are given.

As much as I love this show, I have to say, Kira drove me completely up the wall this week and last. I've had no problem with her place on the show up to now, but I can't take it anymore. How does she learn that she's a magic fox with power over electricity and do absolutely NOTHING to figure out how her power works? Electrical Chimera guy seems to have it figured out in a matter of episodes. How many seasons has Kira had now to work on this? Alongside a mother who is basically an expert! Why is she so completely helpless? She has so much power, and she can't use it for anything! Plus, the first time she came to Eichen House, she caused a major disaster and nearly died/killed Scott. This time, she decides to set foot in Eichen House again, only with NO additional knowledge of how the place affects her, or what to do if it begins affecting her again? I mean, everyone made a plan for what to do if they were trapped in Eichen House (hence Mason), and Kira's plan was, "I guess I'll just explode and die? Because it beats learning anything about how to ground electrical charges?" This is totally different from "the fox spirit inside me is taking over and making me kill." This is about understanding the basic mechanics of how her abilities function. How does anyone learn that they have electrical powers and NOT immediately begin learning everything there is to know about electricity? When every other character learned they were something non-human, they immediately began questioning, experimenting, figuring out what they could and couldn't do. It's natural! If I were Kira, I'd be touching every lightbulb in sight until I figured out how to do by choice what I'd only ever done by accident. But she has apparently done ZERO since discovering what she was. She doesn't need a killer fox spirit to make her a liability. She already is one! And it is starting to legitimately piss me off! Get it together, Kira! Behave like a person and not a poorly-thought-out plot device! Watching you helplessly deer-in-the-headlights your way through situations you should have figured out ages ago is interminable! Yeesh!

Can someone refresh my memory as to the relationship between Trubel and Eve? I've totally lost track. Trubel claimed she didn't know Juliette had survived, let alone was acting as an operative for this organization they both worked for. But she DID know they had taken Juliette's body, and were hoping for this, though she didn't think to mention the possibility to Nick. But now we see Trubel and Eve living and working together? I mean, Juliette walked into that ops-room with Nick, and Trubel did not react to her presence AT ALL, which seems really weird for someone seeing the big-sister-figure they KILLED alive again for the first time. Am I missing something, or does none of this make any sense? Trubel is my favourite thing this show has ever done, hands down. But she is driving me crazy this season because either she knows everything about what's happening and is lying about it for some reason (but the show is setting her up as our trustworthy entry point to this organization, so that doesn't work), or she DOESN'T know and just doesn't care. This is so frustrating! I want my uncomplicated badass back!

One: We don't know that the injury is permanent, or what other injuries may or may not be permanent in the future. There's no sense in complaining about something that hasn't actually happened. Unless you think she should have already been cured, and three episodes is too long for this storyline to have gone on, in which case I vehemently disagree. This is a life-changer and it's just getting started. Two: Felicity wasn't injured from riding in a limo with Oliver. She was injured because she flat-out refused to distance herself from him (and in fact drew closer to him) when she knew that she was making herself a public target for the supernaturally-gifted crime boss bent on destroying Mayoral candidate Oliver Queen. She knew they were going to come after her, and she refused to run and hide, the same way Oliver refused to back down in the mayoral campaign. Because they are both brave, and tough, and able to endure whatever the consequences may be. She knew she could get hurt or killed, and she chose to put her life on the line to resist Darhk, and now that she's been seriously injured, she's STILL taking that same risk, seemingly without regrets. Saying she was paralyzed "just from riding in a limo" undercuts her bravery, determination, and self-possession. They are ALL risking life and limb, Felicity included. Without any consequences, that risk means nothing.

That was the worst! Yes, it was dumb that the bad guys didn't even fight back, but more than that, why would Oliver have even dropped down in the first place to take on six opponents in close quarters?! Isn't the point of being an archer to take out targets from a distance? Like, say, from above? Way to give up your power position AND reduce the effectiveness of your primary weapon in one bizarre fell swoop!

Yes! Focus is a big problem here. I'm still trying to get a handle on what magic in this world IS and how its rules work and what our main characters can do (not to mention who they are)... All the Julia stuff on top of that is too much. I feel like if we had more time to get to know the strengths and dangers of magic alongside Quentin FIRST, then when Julia found it through these other channels we might have a greater sense of the stakes involved and the risks she was taking. It could have been more effective to put off the Julia storyline even for just a few episodes. Trying to figure out the magic of this world from all these different angles at once is muddying things up. You're right about the mish-mash factor. The school has that classroom-magic-learning feel of Hogwarts, the "here are the telekinetics, there are the mind-readers," feel of the Xavier Institute, and the "choose your own learning" feel of real life grad school. It's hard to figure out how this works exactly. Is this like the real world, or Hogwarts, where anyone can learn anything if they put their mind to it, but everyone will be naturally gifted in certain areas? Or is this more like an X-Men thing, where everyone has a certain gift that allows them to do things others can't, requiring different types of people to work together to accomplish certain spells? Can anyone with magic read minds, or only the Psychics? What are they even learning in the classroom? Specific spells, or general magical theory/philosophy? To quote the poor, exasperated partner from God Cop, "I don't understand the rules of this!" I love this! That's twice now she's done some terribly dangerous spell to contact her brother only to walk away IMMEDIATELY! Like, not even giving it a minute! Or staying nearby just in case! Ha! Yes! Hannibal was a fantastic adaptation of the Hannibal Lector book series, because it somehow managed to stay very true to the books while also coming at things from odd angles, finding the stories to tell between the lines, kind of a "through a glass, darkly" approach to canon that actually used knowledge of the books AGAINST the audience, subverting what was expected and ratcheting up some real suspense and mystery that was great if you didn't know the story and absolutely mind-blowing if you did! So, of course, no one watched it and NBC pulled the plug. I guess dull, straightforward remakes are where the money's at.