Olympus, Season 1, Episode 5: Blood Brothers

The Hero manages to make it to Athens by clumsily shooting a guard in the leg. This rather inept introduction leads to him killing several more guards.

Medea visits Lykos to demand to know when the Hero will be delivered – and also to warn Lykos that Kimon is blatantly Pallas’s agent. Lykos believes he’s converted Kimon – and that he should be ruling Athens. In his favour, he’s arguing this because his dad is an absolutely appalling king and the people are beginning to realise this. Of course he’s also sure that he’s all suited to be a leader because the non-existent Lexicon is shining through – which his mother knows is bullshit. She tells him to slow down, grow up and wait for his moment in the sun. And to bring the Hero

Except his agent returns the money because he failed to deliver Hero to him.

In Minos’s camp, Hero left the Oracle tied to Minos’s bed – ye gods man, really? Ariadne is duly snarky while Minos is, surprisingly sensibly, more concerned by the fact a suspected Athenian spy managed to sneak into his tent in the middle of the night and spend long enough there to tie someone up. He leaves Ariadne and the tied Oracle alone – Ariadne is both impressed and annoyed by how effectively the Oracle has manipulated her father. She decides to question the Oracle with an oily leg massage – which I think is attempted seduction though the Oracle seems more uncomfortable than anything. Then she starts writing in pleasure and gasping over… having her calves rubbed.

This turns into a random ominous vision with eagles holding snakes, King of Athens and the world ending.

Minos checks in on Daedelus who is still working on war machines, sort of anyway. We see Minos has some of the same hangs up as Aegeus, it’s not enough to win, they have to win gloriously.

In Athena, Medea and Pallas continue to plot ad King Aegeus keeps having sex with the Priestess while she prays. Pallas and Xerxes think Medea has arranged this so Medea and Lykos can negotiate surrender with Minos. Pallas decides the key to this is to woo Lykos.

Absolutely none of that made sense. Not one iota. Not how having the king have sex with a priestess will allow the surrender to go ahead. Not the idea that Lykos and Medea are planning a surrender. Nor the idea that wooing Lykos will prevent surrender. The whole thing was such random nonsense he may as well have been speaking another language.

So they drag him into a meeting with Lykos also bemused as to what they’re talking about. They try to convinced him how best to present his surrender plea (ignoring that Lykos isn’t actually planning surrender) since they do seem to agree it’s the only way any of them will survive their inevitable defeat. They hope to trade the Lexicon for being able to live and then having Lykos be king afterwards.

Convinced, Lykos sends a carrier pigeon which Xerxes and Pallas hope will help build a case of treason against Lykos. Which they want because… because… Oh I have no clue but somehow it will put Pallas on the throne. They also plot while walking through public corridors which is laughably ridiculous.

Meanwhile Hero dumps his stolen Minoan armour and steals a tunic – only to be caught by a woman who fears he is a Minoan spy because of the armour (because spies infiltrate cities wearing uniforms). Whether she’d believe his ridiculous story I delayed because everyone hides when Athenian soldiers appear – they may be defending the city but that doesn’t stop them abusing the citizens. Naturally Hero intervenes and, as is somewhat a pattern, he also loses.

The Vampire Diaries, Season 6, Episode 20: I'd Leave My Happy Home for You

Vampire Diaries tries to do its level best to make me dredge up one teeny tiny fuck to give about Jo and Alaric’s upcoming nuptials. They fail – even when they throw in a male stripper and Alaric manages to invite the whole damn town to his party.

Of course in the middle of Jo’s now rather pathetic hen night (hey, doesn’t Liv get an invite? She is Jo’s sister) Bonnie decides to ask Elena about the humanity cure. C’mon Bonnie, you’re already throwing a Hen Night here you’ve managed to drag a total of 3 guests (INCLUDING the bride) and now you’ve got to talk about Elena too?

Honestly, at the wedding the priest is going to break off mid ceremony to talk about Elena. All the speeches at the reception will be about Elena. She will throw herself onto the dance floor, shoving Jo and Alaric aside so she can have the first dance.

They continue to talk endlessly about Elena taking the cure and Elena briefly raises that there are actually some really fun elements of being a vampire and Bonnie hits the elephant in the room – human Elena may not love Damon.

Damon and Alaric also talk about this at Alaric’s ridiculously huge stag party. C’mon, the wedding is the coming up and everyone is talking about Elena? They care about this wedding even less than I do!

Tyler, Matt and Enzo show up because everyone else was invited and we have to be reminded there are actually characters more pointless and superfluous than Alaric and Jo on the show.

While Stefan decides to call Caroline and whine. Ok I don’t like the characters but I’m feeling bad for Alaric and Jo now, absolutely no-one cares about them at their own parties. Anyway Enzo’s at the party to recruit Stefan to help his ripper mother

Who is currently hunting a Luke look-alike. Don’t tease me like that Vampire Diaries, it’s not cute. So Stefan goes to intervention her mixing lots of dubious addiction comparison with a heavy dose of passive aggressive spite over the whole she doesn’t really want to be their mother thing.

Stefan calls Damon to tell him all about it but Damon is largely uncaring (which I don’t disagree with – is there a reason he should?) of course Enzo has heard about Damon wanting to be human (somehow? Because it’s in the script I guess? Apparently because he got Alaric drunk which is ridiculous because everyone on this show drinks enough to be drunk all the time). After much snarking Enzo drops his own opinion on Damon turning human – he’s far too selfish for it.

Stefan continues to try and connect to his mother but Lily tells him why she’s not exactly warm and fluffy towards him – she doesn’t dislike Stefan but she doesn’t like who she was when she was his mother. She lived with an abusive, cruel husband and considered herself broken and weak – she’s not a very different woman and doesn’t want anything to do with who she used to be or any connections to that time – including her children. She then stabs him and runs off after killing a waitress. The lady likes her dramatic exits

Back to Matt and Tyler and their big plan to become cops is running awry because Tyler has realised he has a chance of killing someone as a cop – which means he’ll become a werewolf again. Matt decides to pick a fight and accurse Tyler of needing self-control (what, to not kill people in a potentially violent profession? To suppress his werewolfness? Because being a werewolf is controllable now? What does Matt know about it anyway?) Tyler hits him and walks away.

Elena and Damon meet up for more turning human discussion and Elena finally touches on an important element: Damon loves being a vampire and may resent her for turning him human (Damon also talks about being able to eat fatty food without any concern)

Of course Damon and Elena having a heart to heart leaves Jo and Bonnie alone (seriously on Jo’s hen-night? Elena you’re a terrible terrible friend. Do Jo and Bonnie even know each other?!) And Lily arrives all pissed at Bonnie for not rescuing her friends but Bonnie isn’t impressed – no she won’t rescue them even if she could. Lily tries to eat her and gets angry witched – but Bonnie lets up for some bizarre reason and Lily throws something at her neck, stabbing her. Witches vs vampires, the powers change so randomly. Lily then goes to eat Jo who screams that she’s pregnant. This is a line for Lily, especially since she realises Jo is carrying twins and she zooms off.

Firelight (Darkest London #1) by Kristen Callihan

Miranda Ellis has the ability to start a fire out of anything that will burn.  It's a gift that allows her to navigate the dark alleys of London without concern and at the same time it's also the curse which destroyed her family's wealth.  Miranda is forced to steal to put food on the table.  Her life changes forever with a chance meeting with Lord Benjamin Archer. Years later, when Miranda is informed that her father has arranged her marriage to the mysterious masked man, Miranda is indignant but with no other options, Miranda is forced down the aisle.  She didn't expect to come to love Archer in spite of his secrets.  It  this love which inspires Miranda to fight with all she has to save Archer's soul.

Firelight is a historical romance with elements of the fantastic thrown in. In The beginning of the novel, Callihan's work is so purple that it would make Barney weep.  Not to worry, she quickly moves beyond this as she finds her voice; however, that voice is just as irritating.  We are treated to a long scene in which Archer watches Miranda eat.  Why?  Miranda's father already made it clear that they were living on deprivations and so having her wonder at the food didn't exactly establish anything.  The only thing it made me wonder is what the hell the servants are going to get?  Then there's the trip to the museum, and Miranda's shopping trip with her sisters.  These incidents added absolutely nothing to the plot.

Archer quickly falls in love (read: lust) with Miranda.  He does the whole, I'm bad but I have to have you routine.  On her part, Miranda takes a little bit of time for the same declaration.  The two characters do actually get to know each other a little.  From the beginning we get to hear all about how Miranda gives Archer wood and makes him feel like a man.  I quickly got tired of erection descriptions.  There is a massive build up to their first kiss but before that we get treated to a scene where they touch tongues and of course breathlessness, sighs and heaving bosoms ensue.  Who exactly lies in bed with their lover not kissing but touching tongues and moaning? Am I really supposed to find this hot?

Supernatural, Season 10. Episode 20: Angel Heart

Jimmie Novak goes to see his wife, Amelia. That would be the body Castiel has been riding in – who tells his wife that Castiel is gone. He asks about Claire – and Amelia’s arms bleed

Ok, creepy dream. She wakes up to a creepier reality where she’s on a bed with a man cutting her wrist to steal white smoky light (which looks like angelic grace) before woo-wooing her back to sleep.

To Claire who is trawling bars to speak to a guy about her missing mother. He denies everything and tries to leave but fails dismally at lying. When she grabs him he knocks her down and unconscious. He calls an ambulance for her before running off

And it’s at the hospital where Castiel goes to her. Well, after getting the Winchesters for back up (yes he’s a coward). While initially hostile (understandably) she does tell them her mother is missing. First clue on the trail – Amelia went looking for miracle providers – she was looking for Castiel.

Time for Castiel to feel all guilty and, honestly, unlike a lot of shows where the protagonist feels terribly guilty for no damn good reason, this time that guilt is totally deserved. They plan to find Ronnie and Amelia, unsurprisingly, disappears.

Time for the team to split up and Dean takes the chance to remind Castiel that he isn’t Claire’s father and really she isn’t his responsibility nor is he particularly helping her by being around. But Castiel responds with guilt, the general badness of leaving her on her own and the inescapable fact they found her in a hospital.

They do find Ronnie and Dean (rather hypocritically) takes exception to Ronnie referring to Claire as a “bitch” and promptly slams him into the table. Ronnie decides to tell them everything – he worked for a faith healer called Peter by luring vulnerable people to him. Some he healed, some he tied up and sliced and diced.

When they leave Ronnie decides to give Petr the heads up – and he appears to take back Ronnie’s sight (he cured Ronnie of blindness) and then kill him.

Meanwhile Sam catches up with Claire to discuss her quest to find her mother to tell her how terrible she is (Dam reflects on his own mother who died as a baby but he got to know later – because Supernatural). He teaches her various dubious tricks to make life on the road easier before Dean and Castiel return. Castiel has awkwardly bought Claire a rather ridiculous present but manages to be cute and adorable doing it because he’s Castiel.

Where is the Penis?

With cable TV there is a lot of scope to show things which make the censors clutch at their pearls and stagger helplessly to their fainting couches. We can show mutilated bodies, horrific violence, even flayed bodies. We can show murder, torture, horrendously abused corpses from wall to wall and endless squishy, nasty rotting zombies.

And we can show naked bodies and sexy times. Something some shows have embraced with immense fervour - indeed it wouldn’t be a HBO show if we didn’t regularly see some breasts bouncing their merry way across the screen.

One thing we don’t show very much is a penis. Breasts jiggle from every angle, buttocks clench with regularity and even vaginas are a not uncommon sight to such an extent that such displays are barely worth mentioning- but penises? No those are still a very rare beast worthy of comment and shock when they actually appear on screen

We’ve commented on this unequal representation before and there have been numerous scenes (commented on by others as well) where this has been blatant. The naked, blood stained Lillith leaves nothing to the imagination, but the newly minted Billith gets shy and the camera is careful to keep it from the back or above the waist. Game of Thrones can show fully naked female prostitutes so commonly that they’ve virtually become wallpaper, but when Olyvar has sex with Loras or Oberyn the camera is careful to keep all crotches carefully hidden - and it wasn’t like there wasn’t enough space between the two men at all times to show everything!

Even when, again as another said very well, the coyness of the camera even damages the impact of the storytelling, we still are careful to keep those penises hidden. We see this also with True Blood when a naked and embarrassed Sam always has the full impact of his nudity lessened by careful camera angles - and naked male prisoners kept by the Vampire Authority are generally allowed the dignity of filming above the waist. In scenes meant to emphasise their vulnerability, the camera angle allows some dignity and reservation

Long Night Moon (The Seasons of the Moon #3) by SM Reine

Rylie is almost beginning to learn how to be a werewolf, or so she thinks. Her life is working, so it seems.

Except people are dying – is it the responsibility of the new werewolves in town? And even if it isn’t, can she control her territorial instincts?

And Abel is struggling with his newest werewolf bite from Rylie and it isn’t going so well…

Like the previous books, this book continues the story of Rylie and her development. Rylie the new werewolf trying to find her way even as she seems to have things sorted out at the end of the last book with her and Seth and Abel.

And it doesn’t go to plan

I like that. From book one there has been a sense that Rylie is a special werewolf. Sure she turns into a wolf, sure she has anger issues and sure she doesn’t remember what she does in wolf form, but she’s a special one. Her specialness is relied on repeatedly by Seth to keep him safe and is an underlying theme

Furthermore, contrary to this idea of specialness that has been implied and so pervades this genre, we also have an indication that there are people who may be better at this whole werewolf thing than she is. That there are people who are not only better than she but that they may be able to offer her something. Or, to put it another way, the awesome and powerful figure I know Rylie will become in the future

Rylie predominantly focuses on Bekah of the new werewolves. I’m hoping this means she will play a greater role in future books and may finally be the one woman Rylie’s age who she doesn’t loathe with the fiery passion of molten silver – because it’s about time. Of course, that focus in this book means she DOES focus on her with the fiery passion of molten silver quite unlike her brother (though I do question why she repeatedly thinks of Levi as sick or even rotting).

In terms of storyline, I don’t think there’s much to say because I don’t think there is much in the way of story. People are dying but only Abel really focuses on it and he in a not very coherent fashion. They’re more a backdrop to Rylie’s daily life that both lacks the mundanity of a daily life storyline and lacks the events to set it as other than that. We have mini events, a dance, a therapist visit, Rylie’s constant hostility towards Bekah and her struggle for control and, of course, Aunt Gwyn‘s illness. But an actual storyline? I think it’s lacking, even more than the previous book which left me at times wondering exactly what I was reading, what the point was and generally losing me.

iZombie, Season 1, Episode 7: Maternity Liv

A group of teens by a camp fire get a surprise visit – a pregnant woman in a night gown who staggers to the group and then collapses.

That’ll ruin most parties.

She dies which creates something of a media frenzy (her baby survives) but one reporter is very on point – why does this upper-middle-class dead white lady get so much resources and attention when the poor, possibly living and largely POC kids that Blaine has been eating are not worth police time and resources. Clive’s boss, Lt Suzuki quickly moves on from the question and cuts eyes at Clive.

At the morgue the dead woman, Emily Sparrow, is formally identified by her parents. They blame Emily’s boyfriend, Dylan. Though there’s absolutely no evidence – brain snack time. And to the autopsy (after nagging the security company about the complete lack of security in the morgue to try and keep Blaine out). And Liv is overcome by the new brain’s maternal instincts which Ravi snarks, of course he does (and she leaves, thankfully, rather than make Ravi a sandwich out of worry he hasn’t eaten. Ravi’s facial expressions are worth a show on their own).

Liv goes to visit her mother in the maternity hospital – well visit Emily’s baby, much to her mother’s disappointment. Though she recovers quickly to remind Liv how she wants her to do anything else in life than what she is doing. This sets off a flashback to Emma’s parents locking her up and assaulting her boyfriend.

To Clive to tell him that she thinks Emily’s parents locked her up for 8 months when they found out she was pregnant. But Clive is a member of a task force and not the lead investigator so he doesn’t really get to pick and choose how he investigates this crime. And what Suzuki has chosen him to do is join in the interrogation of Dylan who is not feeling very cheery since everyone has basically accused him from the very beginning. He tells them that Emily hitch-hiked and about some loudly barking dogs which may have been relevant - and his intention to claim custody of his child (Liv has a horrified face).

She expresses her horror to Clive who points out that he is actually the father of the child; Liv is not impressed by this counter. Clive’s day gets worse when Major calls about the missing kids – because he’s working with Rebecca Hinson the journalist with the pointed questions earlier. And now she’s just heard him say something unwise on speakerphone because he thought he was talking to Major – and, seriously Major, who puts their phone on speaker without telling the other caller? Clive is, naturally, furious – but he unfairly applies that anger to Liv.

Liv is indulging her new instincts with Ravi’s test rats and Lowell visits where he and Ravi, both Londoners, bond over football clubs before Ravi tests him for zombie stuff. And Lowell has eaten a scientists so is spouting lots of scientific terminology. Liv is also upset that their kiss goodbye was lacking in any kind of passion or chemistry.

Cover Review 20th April to 24th April

All Hallows' Moon (Seasons of the Moon #2) by SM Reine

...oh. Why?

She’s a disembodied torso. A sexualised torso as well, the pose, the focus - it’s all both unnecessarily sexual in terms of basic appropriation AND it seems like a completely unrelated to the book itself. Romance, sex, these are not the focuses of this book. Even with the wolf, this feels like the cover to a completely different book

Agatha and the Voice of the Castle (Girl Genius #3) by Phil & Kaja Foglio

After many adventures, Agatha has returned to the stronghold of her ancestors, Mechanicsburg, where generations of Heterodynes terrorised the continent. For many long years the people of Mechanicsburg have waited for a Heterodyne heir to return – a town full of minions just waiting for the Master to lead them again

But first she must prove herself in the Castle.  Sentiment, terrifying and immensely powerful structure, terribly damaged for years – few people survive who step within.

To complicate matters there’s a second claimant to her title – and it doesn’t help that Klaus, the Empreror, is convinced she is the Other, a terrible force that could tear his empire apart.

When reviewing books it is always important to remember that there are a lot of different tastes out there. I will look at goodreads and see people who loved books I loathes or hated books I adored, been a little bemused but then shrugged because taste is a weird and wonderful varied thing. I remember this because I try to be mature and sensible

Well, I’m throwing that out the window. If you do not love this book clearly there is something terribly wrong with you, I suspect you may not have a soul. Yes I call soullessness!

It is impossible for me to read more than a chapter of this book without a great big silly grin on my face. I think my face may actually be stuck like that. It’s the same grin from reading the previous two books – this series is just so much immense fun!

I love the sparks. I love these glorious evil geniuses with their brilliant mad science and whacky and terrifying creations! I love how zany and weird and wonderful it is. I love how much it made me laugh out loud over and over again as they do so many things, FOR SCIENCE! Including making exploding coffee THAT WAS PERFECT!

I love how so many of the characters are gloriously evil, and it just works in the most amazing way

I love the Jaegers, they’re immense fun, they’re evil and they’re hilarious and I want one. My only sadness is they don’t appear nearly enough in this book

I love the Castle, the product of generations of devilishly evil Heterodyne Spark masterminds who have designed it and increased it over the centuries to be a font of gleeful evil. I love how Agatha with her morality (occasionally overcome by her SCIENCE) tries to work surrounded by people and minions who are the very height of evil.

The Originals Season 2, Episode Twenty: City Beneath the Sea

Klaus lies in his coffin, as Rebekah and Elijah stand over him.  The crescent moon pack is loading Aidan's body into a truck.  Josh arrives home to find a note from Aidan asking him to call. Davina works on a spell trying to resurrect Kol.  Freya is lost in thought, as Dahlia continues to work on a spell.

Klaus wakes to find himself inside Dahlia's head.  When Klaus checks his chest, he finds that there is no dagger.  Klaus moves to attack, as he asks about Hope but Dahlia moves out of the way.  Dahlia tells Klaus that since Elijah daggered him, he has no choice but to listen to her proposition.  Dahlia takes Klaus back into her memories.

Dahlia and Esther are young women when the Vikings attack.  The two young women hide with Dahlia promising to protect them.  Dahlia and Esther promise to remain together no matter what happens.  A viking grabs Esther and Dahlia uses her magic to free Esther but the vikings attack again and this time, the two sisters are taken. Klaus snarks about vikings slaughtering their entire village.  Dahlia tells Klaus that the two of them can be allies.

Freya is ranting after Elijah has told her that Hope is gone.  Freya is adamant that there is no way to end Dahlia without Hope.  Freya wants to lure Dahlia to a killing ground and Elijah is not at all pleased that Freya is suggesting using Hope as bait now that Klaus has been removed.  Freya demands that Elijah make the right decision for Hope and Elijah points out that if Dahlia does die, then Freya will also be free.  Freya makes it clear that if Hayley does not return with Hope, then she will find them herself.

Marcel has brought Rebekah to the club to sit out the coming fight.  Rebekah is adamant that Elijah needs her but Marcel point out that Elijah cannot keep her and Hope safe. When Rebekah is still resistant, Marcel is forced to point out that she is linked to a group of teenage witches. Rebekah does not want to live like a porcelain doll but says that she has no way to undo the spell.  One of Marcel's vampire henchman brings Vincent in. Rebekah demands to be unlinked from the witches and Vincent says that he can do it but it is going to take some time. Vincent however makes it clear that Rebekah will be doing her own magic because he is through with magic.  Vincent declares that when he is done with this, he is done with all of it because he refuses to be their witch for hire.

Elijah goes to see Cami in response to her numerous calls and she explains that Klaus didn't kill Aidan and why Klaus took the blame.  This revelation however does not inspire Elijah to remove Klaus's dagger because he believes that were he to do so, all of the people who are helping to keep Hope safe would stop doing so.  Cami however objects, saying that Elijah cannot leave Klaus daggered while Hope is in danger.  Elijah believes that Cami is only saying this because of her feelings for Klaus.  Cami questions how long Klaus will be daggered and Elijah makes it clear that he intends to keep Klaus like that until Hope is safe.

Jackson is preparing to bury Aidan when Hayley approaches to say that Elijah called to warn them that Freya is working on a locator spell to find them.  It is then Hayley notices the method of burial Jackson is preparing for Aidan.  Hayley is not pleased because this is how the pack buries traitors. Hayley argues that Aidan was loyal to his pack in the end and that is why he was killed.  Jackson says that they don't have a choice because they have to flee. Hayley however makes it clear that if they expect the wolves to die for Hope, then the wolves need to know that their lives matter. Hayley decides that Aidan is to be taken downriver to receive a true Crescent funeral.

Rebekah waits impatiently as Vincent works on the spell, when Elijah and Cami arrive with dark objects.  Elijah reveals that Klaus's mistrust of Freya was not wrong because Freya wants to use Hope as bait for Dahlia. Elijah however wants to create a decoy now that Hope is cloaked.  Vincent stands to leave, saying that he only agreed to help break Rebekah's spell, only to be stopped by Elijah.  Cami intervenes on Vincent's behalf, offering to call Davina.

Josh is packing up his things when he gets a visit from Marcel, who questions if Josh really wants to pack up and leave. Josh points out that he cannot call his homophobic family and cannot get revenge on Klaus, who is already daggered. Josh adds that even if he could, going after Klaus would be a suicide mission. Josh questions if Marcel is here because he is needed to patrol the city and Marcel responds that he is not here to tell Josh what to do but is in fact there for him.  Josh reveals his plans to leave town with Aidan and how he didn't get to say goodbye.

Klaus is still lying in his coffin.  Inside Dahlia's head, she has taken him to the hovel where she lived during her viking captivity.  Dahlia was forced to perform dark magic so that Esther would be free of viking abuse.  Klaus is not at all impressed, saying that no old suffering will justify Dahlia's desire to enslave Hope.  Esther enters the hovel and Dahlia reveals that she has a plan for them to escape and live forever. It seems however that Esther has different plans now that she is going to marry Michael.  Esther wants to get married and have a family but Dahlia argues that she is Ether's family.  Esther tells Dahlia that they will always be sisters but she wants children of her own and loves Michael.  Dahlia begs Esther to sing their songs but Esther is adamant that she doesn't remember them anymore and storms out, leaving a crying Dahlia on the floor. 

Cami and Rebekah have brought the magical objects to Davina.  Rebekah discovers the dead birds that Davina is using to attempt a resurrection spell for Kol.  Rebekah grabs a golem and talks about Kol's idea to use representational magic.  Davina suggests that they replicate Hope's magic and transfer it into a doll to act as a decoy. 

The wolves continue to move through the woods carrying Aidan.  Jackson talks about walking through the woods when he was cursed in his wolf form.  Jackson talks about how only stepping up to protect the other wolves made him calm.  When Hope starts to cry, Jackson tells Hayley where the hideout is and leaves with a few wolves to establish a perimeter.

Klaus is not impressed that Esther was cruel to Dahlia.  Dahlia says that she is not the villain of the story as her shadow self destroys the hovel.  Klaus tells Dahlia to undagger him and state her deal but Dahlia is not finished showing Klaus images of the past. Dahlia warns that what she still has to show Klaus is not about Esther but about Hope, who will need to be saved.

The Returned, Season 1, Episode 8: Claire

Opening flashback – Claire photographing Peter then swimming with Peter, then kissing Peter then apparently having sex with him while she discusses how her life changed course when she met Jack, giving up her career as a photographer. She talks about her dreams becoming dreams for her children.

So Claire and Peter were having an affair before Camille died and she and Jack separated.

Despite her talk of her dreams changing, when she returns home she seems to visibly steel herself before going in.

In the present we have another reminder with Camille that the Returned are always hungry and Lena comes home. After a tense moment, the sisters hug and Lena cries. Claire watches and seems relieved

The next day, Lena tells Peter, Jack and Claire about Tony trying to hold her prisoner when she found Lucy’s necklace- implying that Tony kidnapped her in the first place. Jack storms off seeking revenge and certainly doesn’t listen to Peter when he tries to stop him (though he does have a territory-marking “that’s not your daughter, not your family” line.) Peter keeps following him

At the cabin Tony and Adam hear the cars coming and Tony tells his returned brother to leave. Jack attacks Tony and only stops when Peter smacks him with a branch – Peter seems rather bored by the whole thing

Back at the Winship house, Camille examines Lena’s wound and it’s reduced to a small, faded scar. Lena puts it down to a physical representation of her survivor’s guilt and it’s all gone because they’re reconciled and together. It’s a good moment to see the sisters together again

Over to Tommy and Rowan’s house as the emergency services cart out the body of Simon who Tommy just murdered. Together Tommy and Rowan lie about what happened to cover up Tommy’s murder.

Tommy decides the best way to commemorate murder cover up is with flowers, while Rowan has thrown out the carpet Simon bled all over. He has a brief moment of panic where he thinks Rowan has hurt herself – but she’s just resting and listening to music. Rowan helps Tommy justify murdering Simon – because Simon was suicidal it’s totally ok to murder him, apparently (and can we add how much worse this is since Rowan herself has tried to kill herself?). Now time for post-murder wedding planning and sex.

At the police station Nikki is doing her own digging – and finds the case in 1986 when Victor and his mother were murdered. With photographs clearly showing Victor. She hurries to Julie’s in the middle of the night to tell her about the zombie child she’s hosting. But Julie doesn’t want to know, she says whatever terrible thing happened to Victor is in the past (and yes we have a whole shed load of projecting here). She’s also decided she has been chosen by fate to take care of Victor.

Salem, Season 2, Episode 4: Book of Shadows

Mary is rather disturbed that she was magically attacked in her own bath as she shares with Tituba. Tituba naturally assumes it’s the same person who killed Corwin – though Mary realises the attacker didn’t want her dead since if they did she would be. She also turns her suspicion on Tituba (and assumes it’s a Hive member attacking her) though Tituba insists she’s always done what was best for Mary (ok that’s a little bit of a stretch). She does point out that she always gave great advice – to kill Mercy and Anne – especially since Anne is becoming a super witch.

Mary, of course, rather ignores her and instead tells Tituba to see the seer Petras for answers.

She finds his body (John killed him) so decides to eat his eyes. Because Salem.

The plague is still ravaging the town and John uses a plague doctor’s mask to go around unnoticed. He releases those locked up under accusations of witchcraft and leaves Corwin’s body in their place. The return of Cotton is much more noticed - he is quickly seen by the new magistrate, Hawthorne. Hawthorne is a not a fan of Cotton and the feeling is mutual.

The drunken Cotton goes on to meet Wainwright who takes a moment to mock the study of pointless theology before belatedly remembering his manners. Once he’s polite he and Cotton can geek about the Royal society – though Cotton is a little sad and mortified to hear everyone thought the evidence he presented of a witch-malformed foetus was supposed to be comic. Poor Cotton though he still insists the disease is a witch pox

Wainwright does tell Cotton that he thinks Isaac was the first person afflicted by the plague (and is duly derisive of Isaac being branded as a fornicator) only to find Isaac missing from his sick room. Isaac has left his stuff behind, including a large sum of gold and the Malum (much to Cotton’s horror). Wainwright isn’t interested in babbling about witches and focuses on developing his inoculation

Isaac is now being held by Mercy as part of her vengeance campaign against Mary. Whatever she has planned for Isaac involves a sharp knife – and makes Dolly cringe and apologise to him. She begs Mercy to stop as she cuts and abuses Isaac, pointing out that Isaac is one of them - one of the abused and abandoned of Salem. Mercy just hits her – she beats her until Isaac begs her to stop.

Meanwhile Mary drags in Anne to an interview to scold her about her uncontrolled magic and make it clear other witches think she should kill Anne. But she offers her training instead – to become an “ally” (or pet) rather than a rabid, uncontrolled animal. The first step of that involves Mary groping Anne while she imagines Cotton doing it. She also gives Anne her Book of Shadows – her own personal grimoire, to be a completely unreadable log of her life while alive and to return to the Coven when she dies. Mary has a full library of the grimoires of Essex witches; and she knew Anne’s father died because his book joined the library.

The Last Man on Earth, Season One, Episode Twelve: The Tandyman Can

The group is showing off the cow to new Phil and Tandy (read old Phil) explains that they cannot make the cow go downstairs. Phil of course slaps the cow and makes some yipping sounds and the cow heads downstairs.  The women are suitably impressed, so naturally Tandy and Todd are not.  Later, Tandy meets Carol and the carrel which Phil has built for the cow and Tandy has to run it down. When Tandy asks Carol how her visit with Phil went the previous night, she immediately accuses Tandy of being jealous stating that Tandy is afraid the "new buck in town is going to spray all over" his turf.  I really could have done without that visual.  Tandy is quick to assert "that every inch of this place is already coated in Tandy Miller spray. You've seen it, I've doused it." Okay more GROSS.  What the hell is up with the idea that grown ass men spray their turf?  Carol declares that Phil will be a positive addition to the community and is even going to clean out the garbage pool.  Carol however is not pleased that Phil is now at Erica and Gail's house fixing their generator.  Carol of declares this a play for Phil.

At Erica and Gail's house it turns out that Carol is right and there is nothing wrong with the generator.  Both women claim that the generator was making a terrible sound before Phil arrived.  Tandy and Carol arrive together and Tandy offers to double check Phil's work.  Phil thanks Carol for the pie saying that he hasn't had fresh food in over two years. Gail jumps on this and offers to make him a real home cooked meal since she used to be a professional chef.  Phil declares that he doesn't like anything to fancy because he is a simple guy.  Gail and Erica then go back and forth about how simple they are.  Carol brings up the fact Phil doesn't have a place to live.  All the women offer to let Phil move in but it's Tandy who wins by suggesting that they "bro it the hell out and have bachelor pad action."  Once Phil leaves Carol snarks to Gail and \erica about their broken generator.

Phil is driving a truck into town when he runs into Todd.  Todd offers to help but sees that they're good.  Todd is confused by the fact that Phil said we.  When Phil drives off, Melissa is hanging off the back of the truck, causing Todd to say, "freaking Phil."

Back at Tandy's, Phil is settling in.  It seems that Phil has Macgyvered the shower in Tandy's bathroom so now he can have a hot shower.  Phil strips off his shirt and instead of leaving immediately, Tandy stands and stares.  Phil is forced to ask Tandy to give him some privacy so that he can shower.

Tandy is back in the bar talking to his ball friends and he stands their naked comparing his body to that of Phil's.  Tandy is sure that Phil is trying to establish dominance and plans to respond in kind.

Tandy walks into his kitchen naked and Phil asks him to put some clothes on.  Tandy brings up Phil taking off his shirt yesterday and Phil says that he was about to take a shower.  Erica enters, sees Tandy naked and cue small penis joke.  Wow, I didn't see that coming. Tandy backs out of the kitchen covering his nakedness with his constitution.

Todd shows up at Melissa's to ask if she had a good time on the garbage truck.  Melissa replies that she always wanted to ride on the back of a garbage truck.  Am I really supposed to believe this is the case?  At any rate, insecure Todd tells Melissa that if the relationship is going to work, she cannot hang out with Phil any longer.  He even manages to squeak out, "I forbid it." Melissa tells Todd that this is gotta stop and when she starts to talk about the really nice time she has had with him, Todd interrupts to tell her that the relationship is over.  Todd effectively dumps Melissa before she can dump him.  Melissa says that she was not going to break up with him and closes the door in his face.  This naturally causes Todd to yell, "what were you going to say."

Refugees (the Remaining #3) by D.J. Molles

Lee is beginning to organise the camps of survivors into a network – one that is growing. The foundation of society is beginning to be put in place; winter is coming but they are read

But not all of the survivors agree with Lee and internal tension could rip them apart – and that’s if the Infected’s huge numbers don’t just sweep them away and everything they’ve built

Then there’s what his fellow soldiers are up to…

The world building of this series is huge. I really like how here’s a real attempt to look at some explanation behind the zombies (or infected in this case). We have scientists explaining what causes the infection, scientific reasons for why they behave the way they do and a real attempt to study and explain the biology of the infected. It doesn’t just say “zombies” and rely on pop culture to fill the gaps – or just let the word “zombie” cover everything

This makes the world setting much more real and believable. It also means that we have a lot more scope for plot lines – because the realness of the infected, the fully fleshed out nature of the infected means they can do far more than just be background noise. In most books and on most shows with zombies, eventually the zombies become something similar to a natural disaster – some big background thing that everyone works round while the storyline focuses on how people deal with it and how they interact with each other while dealing with it. They become character driven stories in the background of a zombie apocalypse because after a few stories of surviving zombies there’s not much else to say

But here the infected are different and it raises a whole scope of issues like whether the infected are going to die out or perpetuate. Whether they are evolving and, most pressingly, whether they are going to migrate en masse from the major population centres and, if so, where are they going to. There’s a lot of scope here – in addition to the character driven conflicts.

I’m slightly frustrated that more isn’t made of these unique zombies and the greyness that comes from killing them. Unlike other zombie books where the zombies are blatantly corpses and there’s absolutely no way they could be brought back to who they are, these zombies are still very human. Physically, recovery still seems possible. More they are reasoning, they are forming groups, they are protecting each other, they are providing for each other and helping their weakest – and more (which I won’t reveal for fear of spoilers).

Basically, they’re not mindless monsters – they show at least a level of intelligence on par with more intelligent animals, they’re not undead, they are infected. There’s every reason to think they can come back, they can be cured. Rather than viewing the obvious humanity of the infected as a threat, it would have been nice to see some of this explored.

Once Upon a Time, Season 4, Episode 20: Lily

Our opening flashback has the Sorcerers apprentice consulting a swirling ball of psychedelic light, presumably the sorcerer, to try and undo the whole cursing a baby with evilness thing. There’s absolutely nothing the sorcerer can do to fix that so the best they can do is keep the author locked up forever so he never pulls such shenanigans again

And since he’s been released that doesn’t point to the sorcerer’s apprentice doing a very good job. The Author, Isaac, is all sad about Cruella dying but it’s all part of Gold’s plan- they can’t create the proper ink until Emma goes all dark for the heinous crime of stopping magical, gun toting serial killers from holding her child at the edge of a cliff.

Cut to the good guys and Emma is both angry and regretful for killing the evil gun-toting magical murderess who was threatening her child (did I ever mention that I’m not a fan of the moral compass of this show?) And Maleficient joins the party. Cruella dying has left her without a great deal of faith in Gold’s intentions (Regina is awesomely gleeful at her old hero leaving Gold’s thrall). Since Emma is good at finding people (back in the days when she actually worked, it was her job) she wants Emma to find her daughter, Lily.

She also points out that leaving town and Gold’s influence may not actually be a bad thing when it comes to hindering Gold. Maleficent tells Emma what she knows about her daughter – and Emma is shocked because she’s already met her.

This calls for an Emma childhood flashback to where Emma, happily living with a kind family meets Lily again – asking for help. Emma welcomes her as a friend in her now perfect life, albeit not happy with Lily telling somewhat changed stories of their past – and even less happy when she realises from a news report that Lily is wanted for armed robbery.

Emma is horrified and Lily’s explanation does seem to hint at magical darkness “every decision that I make is wrong”. Emma demands Lily leaves but she won’t without the stuff she has stashed at her squat, including a necklace from her birth mother. She needs Emma to get it for her so she can avoid her boyfriend.

But while Emma is going looking for Lily’s necklace, Lily steals her foster father’s engagement ring. And the lies Lily told and Emma backed were exposed. As the parents grow more outraged, her foster dad makes an unfortunate comment about “our children” which doesn’t include Emma – and Emma leaves.

Lily tries to recruit Emma for a life on the road, while Emma is furious at Lily destroying the family she almost had – she attacks Lily for pretending to be a runaway for fun when it’s Emma’s real life. But Lily has been kicked out – her whole life falling apart since she left Emma, she considers herself cursed. She begs Emma for help - and Emma rejects her.

Game of Thrones, Season 5, Episode 3: High Sparrow

Braavos

Arya is now in the creepy house of creepiness getting inpatient with Jaqen H’Ghar because all she’s been doing is sweeping the floor. Of course this is all part of her apprenticeship to become a Faceless Man. Jaqen is also wonderfully creepily vague and cryptic about their god, the Many Faced God and also tells Arya she should become “no-one”. And a guy Jaqen gave a drink too just died which seems to be a thing in the House. Arya is juuuust a bit out of her depth

To emphasise this she’s fiercely questioned by another woman there, who asks who she is with a coin she knows nothing about – when Arya doesn’t answer to her liking, the woman hits her. Jaqen intervenes, saying Arya isn’t ready which Arya, foolishly, objects to, saying she’s ready to be “no-one”.  Jaqen points out she has Arya’s stolen silver, Arya’s clothes – and Arya’s sword. How can she be “no-one” when she’s surrounded by Arya Stark’s things?

She throws her things in the water, one by one until she reaches needle and, tearfully, she can’t do it. She hides it instead.

She returns to her sweeping and is led to the next stage in her training – cleaning a body with the woman who hit her. She’s not allowed any questions.

Kings Landing

In a covered palanquin, Cersei travels through the streets while the crowd hails and adores her – because they think she’s queen Margaery. Ouch. She doesn’t have the happiest smile on her face as she watches her son, Tommen, the king marry Margaery.

On the wedding night Tommen is all nervous and sweet and so afraid he hurt Margaery. Oh Margaery is going to eat him alive. He’s all naïve and innocent and is all sweetly conflicted because he has so much now because his brother died and he may be one of only two people in the entire world who is sad about that; at least he doesn’t feel guilty because of it

Unfortunately, Margaery tells us that Olenna has left Kings Landing while commenting that Cersei still is – she artfully starts to drive a wedge between Tommen and his mother, making Cersei look over-protective and controlling and seeing him as a child.

So when Tommen is walking with his mother and she’s trying, with far less skill, to stick her knife in Margaery, he tries to get her to go back to Casterly Rock.

Cersei is not amused and goes to visit Margaery and her friends (Margaery greets her with “I wish we had some wine for you, it’s a bit early in the day for us” – first blood Margaery). Cersei seems to be playing nice, even when Margaery makes a sex joke about Tommen’s prowess (I suppose sex within the family isn’t a taboo subject for the Lannisters though). Surprisingly Cersei doesn’t try for one dig – what is this? Surrender or more plotting?

Orphan Black, Season One, Episode Two: Transitory Sacrifices of Crisis

Neelan heads downstairs and finds a dead body in a pool of blood.  He gets on the phone and says, "there's an issue."

Castor scar (Rudy) slips into an apartment with a drunken woman.  She double checks if Rudy is actually a special forces soldier and he brings her a drink, assuring her of his identity. Castor mustache (Seth) takes his place and removes her coat.  When she turns around, Rudy is back.  The woman lies on the bed and starts making out with Rudy and this leads to sex.  Seth enters the room and starts taking off his clothing.  When she opens her eyes, she finds herself in bed with both clones.  The woman says that this is not what she signed up for.  Rudy explains that they're brothers and were taught to share. 

Sarah is walking down the street with Kira and Cal (yes, sexy love interest is back). Sarah reports that Delphine is in Europe covering Rachel's business and has assured her  that Dyad is off her back.  Sarah wants to call Cosima but Cal has something he wants to show her.  It seems that Cal acquired a place and Sarah questions how he is going to live in city considering that he is a lumberjack.  Cal questions if there is anything about this Sarah likes and she says yes.

Seth has fallen asleep on the couch and he wakes when Rudy pours water on him.  The two brothers joke around until there is a knock at their door.  Of course, it's Paul, so the Castor boys go into military mode.  Rudy is not pleased with the freedom that Sarah has and snarks about how well Paul knows her. Paul decides to do some new age testing on the Castor boys which Seth fails.  Rudy tries to cover for his brother, saying that Seth is tired, adding that they drank last night.  Paul is not convinced and drops extraction orders on the table.  Seth says that they aren't done and haven't found the original sample but Paul simply gives them their travelling orders. Rudy questions if the orders are coming from Paul or the mysterious Mother but Paul is not in the mood to answer questions, so orders them to clean up and clear out. Rudy and Seth are ordered to return to base.

Scott shows up at Felix's where he tells Cosima that her bloodwork is extremely encouraging, though she will need an MRI. Scott tells Cosima that while the numbers are great, he cannot explain them. Cosima says that she's open to perspectives on the void and suggests that they get back to the lab. Scott says that while Nealon is twice the researcher that Leekie was, he doesn't trust him.  Cosima points out that Delphine put Nealon in charge.  Nealon wants a meeting this afternoon and Cosima confirms that she will be there.  Felix hands Cosima a new clone phone and she hands him her old one. 

At soccer practice, Allison and Donny watch as Marci Coates gives an interview and Allison declares that she is not going to allow Marci to put their kids in "ghetto." Really Allison? That's a bit much even for you.  Donny points out that it's just the next district but Allison starts to ramble about the quality of the playgrounds. Donny reminds Allison that they cannot afford a campaign until he gets back up on his feet, adding that they might have to sell the house.  Allison brings up the corpse buried in the garage and Donny does the whole "team Hendrix down but not out."  Marci waves at Allison.  Allison is then approached by Ramon, who reports that half of his clients are soccer moms.  Ramon questions if Allison is still clean and when she says yes, Ramon confides that he is getting out of the business.  When Ramon walks away, Donny returns to question who Allison was talking to.  Allison calls Ramon an opportunity.

Cal, Sarah and Kira are playing floor hockey in Cal's new home.  It's cute and very sweet.  Sarah gets a call from Art, who is back on the job.

Art tells Sarah that a woman reported an incident at a hotel last night.  Art holds a picture of Seth and Rudy and tells Sarah that they look like Mark.  Sarah asks about a mustache and a scar and if they hurt the woman.  Art confirms this.  When Sarah asks for more information, Art tells her that he has to go, promising that they will get into details later. Sarah tells Cal about the escaped Castor and he begs her to stay but she is insistent that she has to go because Castor has Helena.  Cal is worried about Kira, saying that he will do anything for her.  Sarah and Cal share a kiss. It's kind of bittersweet because there's no way these two are going to get a happy ending.

Helena is dragged into a room by armed men including one Castor, dressed in military clothing. Helena is then waterboarded. Is Helena ever going to catch a break? They quickly take samples from her and are about to start the waterboarding again when Dr. Virginia Cody enters and stops the test, announcing that Helena is pregnant. Cody helps Helena to sit up and tells her to just be still, adding that she is happy to meet Helena.

Felix is making tea for Mrs. S, who is clearly in rough shape.  Felix assures S that Sarah will come around but S is worried that she has lost Sarah and Kira for good.  S is worried that despite all she has done that she has not made Sarah or Kira safe.  Felix encourages her to do something about it and gives her a clean clone phone.  S claims that she has no use for it and Felix is adamant that she doesn't get to sit this one out.

At the Dyad institute, Scott and Cosima have arrived for their meeting with Neelan.  Neelan reports that Cosima is doing well and now they are going to make treatment choices together.  Cosima brings up the Castor clone who escaped and Neelan claims that it was supposed to be his first order of business.  Scott brings up the original genome, claiming that it would solve everything and questions if it was really destroyed.  Neelan claims to want the source material as well but says that thanks to the Duncans, it's lost to them. Apparently, Leda started as a military experiment under the guidance of the Duncans and when the military shut down the project,  Dyad recruited them.  The Duncans took the location of the original donors to their grave and Lyda believed that Castor was unsuccessful.

Cold Blooded (Jessica McClain #3) by Amanda Carlson

Jessica arrives back in town after rescuing her mate Rourke only to discover that her best friend Marcy has been kidnapped.  Marcy's powerful witch aunt Tally wants answers.  It's not long before they are all attacked by sorcerers and are forced to flee.  After Jessica learns of a vision from a seer that she must head to New Orleans to save her father and find Marcy, she on the road again.  It's not long before Jessica finds herself fighting against the forces of the underworld and trying to strike a bargain with the wily vampire queen.

This is book three in the Jessica McClain series and we still have yet to have any meaning plot or character development.  Cold Blooded shifted back and forth between battle scenes and Jessica and Rourke either having sex, or angsting about their desire to have sex.  If you are into action scenes, this might be your thing but at this point in a series, I expect to know more about the characters involved.

We are told that Marcy is her best friend ad nausem but because Marcy had been kidnapped we don't really get to see her interact with Jessica very much.  The rest of the people Jessica is close to she spends issuing orders throughout the novel.  Despite being a newborn Lycan, she never doubts herself, no matter the situation and you guessed it - everything always works out in her favor.  I suppose it has to because it's the chosen one but it makes the book read as though Jessica is just working through a series of tasks. 

This series is predicated on Jessica being the only female werewolf and therefore is either feared, desired or hated.  These motivations most of her interactions.  Unfortunately, Jessica continues to deal with this by developing some new Lycan ability on cue.  She is literally the chosen one and these meme is simply played out in this genre.  I have yet to see Jessica use reason in any confrontation that she is in; however, she is more than willing to suddenly decide to challenge a demon lord.  I suppose that was meant to come off has daring but it read as stupidity to me.

The Messengers, Season One, Episode Two: Strange Magic

Vera holds a pillow, as she stands at Rose's bedside.  The man appears and tells her not to stop because she is so close. Vera tosses the pillow on the bed and tells the man that if he wants Rose dead, he should do it himself.  Vera questions how she can be sure that the man has Michael and he holds up a toy which used to belong to Michael when he was a baby.  We get a flashback of Vera playing with toy with Michael, as in the background the song Strange Magic plays. An announcement comes over the loudspeaker to ask Vera to head to the nearest courtesy phone.  When Vera turns back around, Michael is gone. Vera starts to scream Michael's name in a panic.  In the present, Vera attacks the man, calling him a sick son of a bitch.  The man wraps his arms around Vera, again asserting that he knows where her child is.  Vera picks up the pillow and again approaches Rose but before she can act, Rose sits up suddenly.  Rose turns and sees the man and says something unintelligble to him, causing him to disappear. 

Vera is shocked that Rose is no longer in a coma. Rose notices the pillow in Vera's hand and realises that Vera came here to kill her.  Rose starts to get out of bed, as Vera pleads to know the name of the man because he knows where her son is. 

Raul has passed out in the back of Erin and Amy's car.  Erin quickly disarms Raul, saying that she needs to get him out of the car, as Amy pleads that Raul is not a bad man and needs help.  Amy sees a sign for the hospital and begs her mother to take Raul there.

Joshua has arrived at the hospital and he makes his way into a room.  When Joshua looks up at the television, his father is hosting an interview where he is being denounced, declaring Joshua mentally ill.  Joshua looks up and sees the sign for a chapel.

Peter has now been dropped off at the hospital by the trucker.  He decides to head inside after a vending machine steals his money. Peter grabs a tray of food meant for a patient.

Amy and Erin talk to a nurse, as the nurse works on Raul. Erin and Amy move to walk away and nurse asks their name because she is required by law to report all gun shot wounds.  The nurse instructs them not to leave and then exits the room. Erin tries to convince Amy to leave but instead, Amy wakes up Raul.  When Raul sits up, Erin snarks that he is lucky they didn't bring him to a police station instead of a hospital. Raul tries to get out of bed but collapses on the ground, with Erin falling on top of him.  Erin's touch heals Raul and he questions what she just did.  The cops arrive and Raul, Amy and Erin take off.

Joshua is in the chapel and sits to pray, asking if the visions are real, adding that he has lost everything.  Peter is also in the chapel and he is eating his stolen meal.  Erin, Amy and Raul rush into the chapel to hide from the cops and they are quickly followed by Vera and Rose.  Joshua recognizes Rose as the woman from his visions and Rose not only confirms her identity but calls the assembled group The Messengers. Rose explains that they are the angels of the apocalypse. When Vera reveals that Rose just woke up from a seven year coma, Peter turns to leave the chapel.  Erin stops Peter and then calls all of the gathered together and informs them that they all died yesterday. Joshua is relieved to know that he is not going "crazy".  Rose explains that God is angry and is giving them a test - this is the beginning of the end. Vera is not impressed and believes that Rose is wasting her time, so she demands to know the name of the man who took her son.  Rose explains that the man is the devil, who was cast down from heaven once again. When Vera declares herself to be an atheist, Rose makes it clear that Vera shouldn't doubt the devils presence, adding that he will play on their worst fears and insecurities.  Vera turns to leave, saying that she is calling the cops but Rose points out that in seven years, they haven't helped her find Michael.

The nursing staff discovers that Rose is no longer in bed and sounds the alarm.

Erin asks why them and Rose explains that if people like them can figure out a way to work together,  maybe the world can be saved.  It's Joshua who points out that Rose is referring to the rapture. Rose explains that God has given them all special gifts to save the earth. Vera however says that she is the one with the gift of sanity but Rose suggests that Vera's gift will reveal itself when the time comes.  Rose adds that God has gifted her with understanding whatever God wants her to in every language known to man.  Vera declares that Rose needs medical attention and starts to rant but Joshua falls to the ground and has a vision.  In Josh's vision, he sees Vera and her son reunited, a horse race and E1.

The meeting is broken up when the nurses enter the chapel.  Rose tells Vera that there is no escaping destiny.  The nurses rush in and call Rose's awakening a miracle.

Erin and Amy rush outside with Raul.  Erin tells Raul to get into the car, saying that she believes Rose is right because she must have healed him for a reason.

Vera walks out of the hospital and she gets a call from Alan to report that they have been fired and locked out of their offices.   Alan is being escorted by the military.  Alan however tells Vera that he still has the rock from her house and she hops in her car to join him.  Vera does not get far because Joshua jumps in front of her car saying that he saw her son.

On the road, Raul explains that he is a federal agent who was framed and now there are people looking for him. Raul asks Erin to drop him off at his brother's because he doesn't want to be anymore trouble.  Suddenly, a cop car starts following them with sirens blaring.  Erin hands Raul his gun and pulls off to the side of the road.  The cop approaches the car and Raul hears Amy and Erin thoughts about not wanting to be hurt.  Raul hears the cop thinking about arresting Erin for kidnapping. The officer orders them both out of the car and Juan uses the door to knock the officer to the ground before disarming the cop and handcuffing him to his patrol car. Back on the road, Raul asks who Ronnie is, causing Erin to realise that Raul was reading her thoughts.

Peter gets a call from Alice asking him where he is and when he can come home.  Peter replies that he cannot return because he is guilty of murder.  Alice reveals that she informed the cops that Sam threatened to kill him and now the cops know that it was just self defense.  Peter however says he has things he needs to figure out before returning home.  Peter stops at a sign which reads, "Need directions? Follow the signs."  The entire time Alice was on the phone, a cop was standing behind her and the cops were tracing the call.  They locate Peter in Houston and thank Alice for her help.

Grimm Season Four, Episode Nineteen: Iron Hans

"He had killed man,
the noblest game of all,
and he had killed in the face
of the law of club and fang."

Maggie Bowden helps her brother and father pack up with a group travellers to rough it without technology and the niceties of modern living.

Nick relates the bullet points of his conversation with Juliet to Hank, Monroe, and Rosalie.  They are shocked that Juliet isn't the least bit apologetic for getting arrested after beating people up.  Monroe and Rosalie report that they haven't found anything works and add that Adalind is the only one who might know something about this. Rosalie says that she doubts Adalind would help anyway because Juliet is paying the price for them taking Adalind's child.

The Bowden men are telling the group that they are guiding that they have a responsibility to embrace their true natures.  The gather up and chant to the hunt.  Soon, they are falling over themselves to catch a rabbit with their bare hands.  It's little Elliot who catches the rabbit.  Later that night, as the rabbit cooks, the travellers are informed that this is about their first woge and that they shouldn't be afraid of who they are.  One by one the group woges and then they take a bite of the rabbit meat. 

Renard is in his room and suddenly grabs his chest in pain.  He checks for blood before getting a drink of water.  Next, we seen him outside on the street and it's raining. 

Near the campsite, a kid tries to hitchhike and is attacked by a Wesen.

Rosalie goes to visit Juliet in jail to say that she is sorry for everything that is going on and adds that she feels responsible.  Juliet tells Rosalie that she is responsible but that she is happy now because life is more interesting.  Juliet questions if Rosalie would give up being a fuchsbau for love.  When Rosalie responds yes, Juliet points out that Nick wouldn't give up being a Grimm for her.  Juliet says that this all worked out for the best because she is on top of the world. Rosalie however tells Juliet that she knows Juliet is still in love with Nick. Juliet thanks Rosalie for the visit and leaves.

The cops are at the crime scene where the hitchhiking kid was killed.  Hank is quick to declare that it looks like an animal attack but adds that it probably wasn't.  Nick finds prints and says that it's probably Wesen, adding that they need Monroe.

At the station, Renard gets a report on last night's crimes and he focuses in on assaults. Renard points to a crime scene he was close to and orders that the cop check with the victim and see if there is a suspect description.

Back at the spice shop, Rosalie tells Monroe about her visit to the jail, adding that they need to stay out of this because Juliet needs to realise that she loves Nick. The conversation is cut short when the cops arrive to show them the footprint found near the crime scene.  Monroe says that it looks like a Löwen print.  Monroe offers to come out to the scene and have a look around.

The cop reports to Monroe that the victim's name was James and that he was attacked at 2:45AM next to the fountain on his way home from work.  The victim could not provide a description of the attacker.

Vincent is on the phone with king and makes it clear that he informed Renard that his next appearance would be his last.  Adalind interrupts the conversation when she enters the room.  Vincent makes it clear to the King that Renard knows the order comes directly from the king.  Vincent finishes the call and Adalind asks if the king is going to kill Renard but Vincent doesn't answer.  Vincent reveals that Juliet has been arrested and Adalind responds that if that happened, it means that Juliet has accepted that she is a Hexinbiest.  Adalind adds that things are going to get worse before they get really bad. Vincent responds that this includes Juliet's desire to kill Adalind.  Vincent however declares that this is the opportunity they have been waiting for because Juliet knows everything about Kelly and Nick. Adalind however believes that there is no way Juliet would betray Nick.  Vincent then asks who the father of the baby is and when Adalind doesn't answer, Vincent reveals that he knows the father is Nick. Vincent wonders what Juliet will do when she learns that Adalind is pregnant with Nick's child.

The cops and Monroe are at the crime scene and Monroe declares that the scene looks like a hunt. Monroe adds that there's not much scent left and suggests that they track the blood trail.  They come across a fence which the killer got through. 

The cops and Monroe arrive at the Iron Hans Ranch.  Monroe calls it a coming of age camp for Wesen boys.  They are greeted by Todd and Albert Bowden, who question what the cops are doing at the ranch.  Hank and Nick explain that they are following up on a murder and that the tracks led to their fence. When Todd says that they don't look like trackers, Monroe woges, causing the Bowdens to woge as well.  An angry Todd declares that Nick is the Grimm they heard about and that they are not afraid of him.  Maggie Bowden joins the conversation, asking what is going on.  Albert says that everyone was on the ranch last night, adding that he has heard of Monroe as well.  The Bowdens  offer to take the cops and Monroe out to the camp site.