Vicki and Celluci meet jogging and discussing the
ramifications of last episode. It seems that things are tense but Vicki is
confident things will be fine between them. As an added bonus, she reassures
Celluci they’ll be fine. Which doesn’t please me. But more on that later.
Anyway, back to the plot – and a young couple are busy
getting down to business, clothes come off and then she grows snakes and he
turns to stone. Surprise gorgon! That’s got to put you off. Almost as much as
the awful special effects.
The man’s (Brendan) modelling manager comes to Vicki to
ask her to find him because she’s all he has in the world. Oh and he owes her
$6,000. Celluci has recommended the case – which cases Coreen to suddenly start
cheerleading for Celluci (and here was me thinking she was Team Henry) and
acting like Vicki is unreasonable for not instantly forgiving him
Time for Vicki to do what she always does when she has a
case – go see Henry. Yes I’ve ranted about this before as well – it’s a simple
missing person’s case, Vicki, you’re a detective, you’re not even going to try
and investigate before dragging the vampire in? This makes Vicki look so
incapable and weak as detective that she can’t even begin to pursue a case
without begging help from a vampire. How did she manage before Henry came
along?
On to the nightclub where the man disappeared to pick up leads, speak to bar staff and eventually lead to the club owner (the gorgon), Elena who knows nothing, remembers nothing and has never had any trouble ever. Which is, of course, very very suspicious. In particular Henry heard her heartbeat race showing a lie and Vicki catches on that Elena mentioned “sexual predators” before she did –pointing to what she was thinking. Good detective work, I like it. Time for more Vicki and Henry flirting
Back to Coreen to check a website that Henry heard about
in the club – a website where men post pictures of the women they’ve slept
with. Yes, it’s classy. Thankfully Vicki treats it accordingly. But open for
the women from Brendan’s profile has the club owner’s distinctive tattoo.
Celluci follows up to the same club asking questions
because it has suddenly become a police matter, and starts flirting with Elena
Knowing she lied, Vicki and Henry go to her house –
planning to enter unofficially (also known as breaking and entering). Out come
the lock picks (or Henry entering through an upstairs window) and Henry hears a
far-too-slow heart beat inside (wait, his hearing is that strong?) And inside
they find a statue of Brendan – with the too slow heartbeat. Vicki and Henry
rush out with the statue (and an acknowledgement and reminder of Vicki’s
disability, at last) just as Celluci and the club owner bring the flirting
home.
Coreen, Vicki and Henry all gather at Vicki’s office to
discuss the stoned Brendan – and Coreen the very well read comes up with basilisk
or gorgon. Vicki suspects Elena, but Henry advocates more caution. There is
also much teasing of Vicki over Celluci going to Elena’s house. For some reason
Vicki wastes her time taking this to Celluci who, obviously, ignores everything
she says as usual and is snippy because she’s not all fuzzy and warm to him and
wonders why they don’t just end everything. Y’know, Mike, I thought exactly the
same thing myself. Why does Vicki put up with you?
In frustration and with characteristic courage and
recklessness but, I have to say, uncharacteristic spunkiness, Vicki taunts
Elena the gorgon to try and draw her out. And it works – a masked man turns up
at Vicki’s office to smash the statue. She smacks him around really nicely but
one blow puts her down. This is followed by reasonable depression and a really
powerful conversation between her and Henry about love, youth and connection.
Speaking of powerful scenes – Vicki buries the statue fragments that are all
that is left of Brendan.
Celluci and Elena keep flirting and Celluci pokes Dmitri
the doorman (probably the statue breaker). They take the flirting to the next level, though
the making out turns awkward since Celluci has half his mind on Vicki. Coreen
and Henry go to Elena’s club to get in the VIP section where they find many
many more statues. Using computer software they track them all to missing
people.
Vicki and Henry meet to discuss bringing her down – and she
borrows a sword from henry to do it. They have another great discussion (this
episode is really full of them) on taking lives, on humans versus monsters and
how hard it is to do.
Through Celluci and Dmitri we see a lot more of Elena’s
pain and history. And we have a good description of her as a rape survivor and
how rape survivors are treated. It’s really well done and covers a full depth
of emotion – except that there’s this big glaring issue of her being a murderer.
Which we see when she turns Celluci to stone! Yaaaaay, can we leave him like
that?
Time for Henry to rush in and Vicki practice some
dramatic posing before cutting Medusa’s head off and freeing the statues and
leaving Dmitri to grieve over her head. Everyone goes on for some dramatic moping
– especially with the death weighing on Vicki’s hands.
Then Vicki and Celluci have a little discussion in which
they seem to quietly and subtly bury any romantic relationship they could have
had.
Ok time for a great big temper tantrum rant. I am very
very sick of the Celluci pity party. Celluci is not the injured part here. It’s
bad enough that Celluci has been nothing more than a walking avatar of jealousy
this entire season, but his ridiculous decision making and hatred of Henry
allied him with a vigilante priest without doing any background check on the
guy – and then his actions got Henry tortured and both Henry and Vicki nearly
killed. Why is Vicki talking about things being eventually fine? How is she
resisting not slamming his head against every flat surface every time she meets
him? He hasn’t even apologised! And why is Vicki the one reaching out while
Celluci slopes off in a huff because instant shining forgiveness isn’t
forthcoming?
And Coreen! What is wrong with you, lady? Acting like Vicki’s
being unfair not welcomeing Celluci back with open arms is beyond ridiculous!
Celluci did not “make a mistake” he wilfully sided with a murderous vigilante –
and don’t tell me he didn’t know. What did he think the Catholic vampire hunter
was going to do to Henry? Advocate a vegan diet? Discuss anger management
therapy? His wilful actions nearly got Henry and Vicki killed – and no, finding
Henry afterwards is not redeeming! You can’t push someone into a pit (where
they fall and break all their bones) then offer them a hand out and make it all
better!
Maybe I’m more vengeful and grudgy than most, but I do
hate it when characters give people a pass no matter how extreme the behaviour
of people who’ve hurt them. I don’t think it makes them look compassionate and
forgiving or even grown up – I think it downplays the bad treatment and
validates it. It also feeds into the pernicious societal idea that just because
someone said sorry (which, I hasten to add, Celluci hasn’t actually done) he is
owed forgiveness. Forgiveness is earned, not owed. And, from a story
standpoint, since we don’t then get any attempt at redemption from the bad
behaviour, I spend the rest of the series thinking of them as “that arsehole”
because his shitty behaviour has never been addressed or redeemed.
Rant number 2 – yes I’m still irritated by Vicki calling
on Henry the minute she has a case – even when the case seems to be mundane,
even before she’s even tried to do any investigating on her own. In the book
Henry is the one who goes to Vicki for help most of the time – because she’s
the detective with the skills, knowledge and experience that he, a writer,
doesn’t have and the supernatural community needs. For Vicki to turn to Henry
not only when she has a supernatural problem, but as standard procedure for all
cases makes her look incapable of doing her job and a much weaker character.
I do like how there is some acknowledgement of the Gorgon’s
past though – of the abuse she suffered in Greek mythology and how grossly
unfair her treatment was. Vicki obviously doesn’t accept it as an excuse; which
I agree with but think she brushed off the trauma abuse victims face too
cavalierly – but I do like that she did dispel the idea that abuse victims are
inherently abusers as well. It needed to be done since we’re examining her
abuse and her experience as a rape survivor but she is also a murderer. There
is an examination of her pain and suffering and the rape apologetics. It was
really well done and covers it from several angles
