*Reviews May Contain Spoilers*

Gossip Girl – The Lady Vanished

Rufus: See I look at you and I don’t see my daughter anymore.

This was a decent episode. There was nothing that stood out as quite memorable though it was quite a powerful moment when Elizabeth revealed her history with Bart and Chuck. I wasn’t surprised that she didn’t marry Bart. Though it’s quite interesting that after all of these years of not wanting to be in Chuck’s life, Elizabeth wants to be in his life now. Especially knowing that she requested Bart tell Chuck she was dead so he wouldn’t look for her. There’s got to be more to this story line since she’s in New York for good (…or for the time being?). There’s lots more relationship drama in the big city as Rufus and Lily seem as far apart as ever. It feels like the ink has barely dried on their marriage license and already it seems what is best for them is a divorce. I know Rufus sent Jenny back to Brooklyn, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Dan and Rufus moved back in soon too. Rufus sending Jenny back to Brooklyn so she could get her act together was the best move Rufus has made in awhile. The drugs took things to a new level, but just for a quick moment…wish Damien let her take the fall. She was right in questioning their relationship after she took the fall. They need to not mix “business” with pleasure and cutting all ties would be nice. Jenny needs much better influences in her life. As for Dan…Dan and Vanessa trying to be friends now that they have tried the relationship route…it’s all just so awkward and I don’t like it. They need to spend some time apart and evaluate what they really want from each other and come back and recollect. As far as reconnecting goes…now that Serena does not want to see her father anymore, (SPOILER) he is of course going to come into town in a future episode to explain himself. That’s not a mystery. What is a mystery though is why he will be coming to town now rather than before. I am anticipating his visit and hoping Serena can find the closure she thought she found in this episode, in what is to come when her father arrives. Hopefully that will have more of a positive effect on her relationships too. Only time will tell.

90210 – Girl Fight!

Liam: I’ve been feeling distant from you ever since we got back together. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Why we weren’t connecting. You’ve been so polite, so unlike the girl I fell for.

Naomi: I just wanted everything to be perfect. I guess somehow that translated into me not being myself.

Liam: Well then you’re done with that because the girl I fell for is ballsy, opinionated, and full of herself and today I finally saw her again.

This was a great episode! Silver telling Dixon that she doesn’t have the same feelings for him but likes having Dixon back in her life as a friend was helpful for her but definitely hurt Dixon. I wonder how long it will take Dixon to get over her. I wonder how long Silver & Teddy will last because I honestly don’t see the two lasting all that long, like years. Dixon telling Teddy the truth was bold and thankfully both took this confession better than I thought. But when all is said and done, I’d rather see Silver with Dixon as opposed to Silver & Teddy. As for the other love triangle… Naomi inviting Ivy to spend time with her and Liam was hilarious and for a moment a bit disappointing since it took Naomi quite some time to see that Ivy was still into Liam. Seeing the two duke it out was disheartening since someone is always going to walk away hurt in these situations. It is so hard to say which girl would be best for Liam because they both seem so great for him. It seems Naomi may have won this battle (for now) but it will be interesting to see how this completely plays out. From one unfortunate situation to another…Jasper trying to blackmail Annie even more and trying to force her to have sex with him was incredibly disturbing. Thankfully, Annie (finally) stood up for herself and eventually accepted the fact that she needed to confess. Unfortunately her feelings for Jasper are so deep that even when she tries to stand her ground, his sweet lies work on. We’ve seen the lengths Jasper is willing to go to get his way so this does not seem like it will end well, or more well than any of us originally though. Only time will tell. As for the others…there was not much story development with Adrianna or Navid. Navid is in jail and Ad is spending more time with Gia. Is this story line about a friendship, experimenting, or about Ad finding her true sexual identity? I’d definitely rather it be the first or latter and the writers are doing a good job introducing this relationship so far, so all us viewers can do is trust they know what they are doing. Lastly, this episode ended with quite a surprise! Who knew Dixon’s mom would come to his house to visit him? That is a big step for her and a big leap of faith for Harry & Deb, as the question will of course arise as to what Dixon’s biological mom’s intentions are. Does she want to get to know Dixon from afar or as a present parent in his life from hereon out? There’s quite a lot to take in from this short moment and great job on leaving us viewers with this to ponder until the next episode.

Melrose Place – Stoner Canyon

Drew: When’s the last time you laughed?
Lauren: I’m not here to laugh.

This episode kept my attention very much. It was very well written and full of surprises. Just when I thought I was so over this show…well, I’m not over the show just yet. David finding out that he is the father of Noah and not his dad…wow. What a shocker. Michael seems like he wants to destroy David after hearing the news…but how far will he go? Where does this leave David’s relationship with Noah? Will anyone tell Noah? This is all so scandalous, I love it and cannot wait to see how this story line unfolds. Going from 10 to 0 for a moment…Amanda is broke…good for her! That’s all I have to say about Amanda because she was not a priority in this episode. Not so good for business though is the meeting Ella set up for Jonah. Riley joining Jonah on his business meeting went quite well and was hilarious at first but then an argument ensued. Everybody seemed to lose a bit of something after that meeting but one thing is for sure, Ella gained some clarity… she will never win Jonah’s heart…no matter how hard she tries. As for Riley…will she play nice with the new neighbor, Drew? Last but certainly not the least, Lauren being blackmailed by Michael now that he knows her secret…will she go through with breaking David’s heart? Or will she confess to David and ask for help in taking Michael down (as well as herself in a sense, hopefully not for too long)? Great episode…looking forward to more.

Flash Forward – Revelation Zero: Parts 1 & 2

Janis: Did you really think you could leave the country without being noticed?

Simon: “Country” is such a loose term. It’s Canada.

What an incredibly jam packed 2 hour return! There were so many revelations! There was so much going on…the best way to approach this is by character, starting with Mark. In his personal life, Mark and Olivia aren’t facing their relationship issues upfront and need to do so before their flash forwards come true. In a sense it seems like they believe avoiding their feelings and hoping for the best will make everything work out for them, despite their actions which prove otherwise. As for Mark’s professional life…well, it is lacking as of now since he loses his badge due to his outburst in Hong Kong. Two good things come out of this though…one, Mark creates the mosaic board at home which gives him more time and leeway in a sense to gather his flash forward clues. Two, he is forced to see a psychologist to get back his badge and the psych gives him a drug to help him with his memory. This is good because more is revealed from his flash forward. The most significant things revealed, at least for the time being is the “help us” sign that Lloyd has recently made (as Lloyd has been kidnapped by Flasso) and the phone call Mark made to Lloyd in regards to there being another blackout! Were Mark & Lloyd working together? When will another black out occur and will there be time to prepare (so that everyone is safe)? Speaking of Lloyd, I am still uncertain as how to he amplified the flash forwards. I understand that he did not cause it now but so much took place in this episode, something may have gone over my head. What didn’t go over my head though was the second part of this episode, which was far more interesting. Through this episode, I have come to sympathize more with Simon as opposed to target him as the enemy. Finding out that Simon was the one awake at the baseball field and was totally unaware of what was happening was quite a shock! Does finding out all that he has been through justify what he has done thus far? Hmm… So quickly, as for those with more respectable jobs…it is quite frustrating to see Demetri trying to prevent and solve his future murder with such a distracting partner who can’t hold his own. Thankfully Janis gave us a comedic edge as she watched over Simon while he searched for more information about what Lloyd has been up to. Lastly, at the hospital, Nikki saw the person trying to drown her in her flash forward! How terrifying and exhilarating that must have been for her! I am anxiously anticipating more to be revealed about her flash forward, who that man is and why he may do what she saw. I say “may” because a nurse leads Nicole to a group called Sanctuary, where she meets Timothy. Timothy has quite the miracle survival story from the day of the flash forward and then poses the question, are the flash forwards a combination of fate and free will? Personally, I’d say yes since that is life. I don’t think there is anything complex about answering that question though that does not make it any less interesting to watch and see what the characters on the show choose to do. While the first part of this episode was a little too all over the place for me and the second part did not do justice in covering more bases with various characters…this show has so much mystery and action and it is all so very intriguing that I can’t wait to see what’s next and how this first season will wrap up. Hopefully things aren’t to jumpy in future episodes and there is a better balance when covering the main characters. Good episodes!

The Office – New Leads

Michael: You just made an enemy with the wrong guy Dwight.

For a half hour comedy, this episode had quite a lot of drama. Michael creating clues and riddles for those in sales to find their leads would have been a fun activity if the leads weren’t so important. He wasted time, the reasoning for his actions were immature, and some leads ended up in the city dump! Not cool. Thankfully, this is not a real docu-series because what a disaster that would be. This episode was daring in going the extra mile in creating tension and a dramatic tone in the office. Phyllis was so rude to Angela and really, their dislike for each other should be over by now. Enough time has passed for them to be civil. It was great to see Pam still being helpful even at home and solving the clue for Jim but I was taken aback when Kelly of all people didn’t cave in and look at the baby picture. Erin helping out Andy with finding his lead was fun to watch since Andy thought she was seducing him. But does anyone else find it incredibly disappointing that Erin & Andy had a kiss in a dump? Michael and Dwight fighting in the dump was disgusting and definitely was a moment I would rather have not seen. Even more disturbing was seeing the two bring back a chair. It’s not it was a garage sale they picked it up at. Anyway, overall I was not thrilled with this episode. There can still be good character development and story development with comedy, there just has to be more thought into how it will be done after so many seasons…turning this show into a dramedy is not something many Office fans would appreciate being that this show has such a signature comedic way…even when it’s good it just seems so wrong.

Ugly Betty – All the World’s a Stage

Justin: Thanks. I feel better now.

Marc: Good…I’ve never felt more alone.

This was quite a special episode, not only because of the entertaining characters and incredibly well written story lines…but the guest stars – Carol Kane (The Bounty Hunter) and the amazing Aaron Tveit (Next to Normal the Musical). The first was intertwined in Justin’s story line as his theatre teacher. Though there was quite a lot more to be excited about in theatre class as Justin had his first kiss with a boy! All this time he was aiming for Lily when Marc and all of the viewers were anticipating this moment from the beginning! Great scene! Now that Justin has taken this step, it will be interesting to see how much further along he gets in being comfortable with his sexual identity in the last few episodes of the series. The second guest star, Tveit was intertwined in Betty’s story line as her subject for Mode turned romantic interest. Unfortunately the latter didn’t work out and while I want to say it’s a shame…it’s really not. Betty has done better so there is no reason to settle for this. Something good did come out of this experience of Betty’s though as she was given the number of an orthodontist! Seeing her make an appointment to get her braces off is exciting but sad at the same time since it signals the end which is creeping up on us viewers quite fast! It was a perfect way to end the episode. But before the end, quite a bit more took place for other characters. Hilda was on cloud nine, trying to figure out how to show off her engagement ring. Interestingly enough, her fiance was nowhere in sight. I’m sure this means nothing…it was just interesting that he wasn’t at Justin’s play. From the Suarez family to Mode…Marc, Amanda, and even the patient rooming with Wilhelmina all meant well but Willie didn’t perceive that help in the way that they had envisioned. Now that her vision is to buy and take over Meade completely, this has definitely raised the bar as to the drama that will ensue between her and Daniel/Claire/possibly Claire’s other son. While I want Willie to be happy in the end, I’m conflicted with whether or not I want to see her have the entire company! This is when it is very important to trust the writers and not create any high expectations so that I can be satisfied with whatever the outcome is. Looking forward to seeing how everything wraps up!

Caprica – Ghosts in the Machine

Daniel: Here’s the deal. I love my dog but I love my daughter even more. And if there’s even a slight chance that some small part of her is tangled up in your skeleton, I’ve got to know.

If you want to know why I love Caprica so much, this is the episode to watch (and the mid season finale episode that airs next Friday). Joseph taking an amp to help him stay alive and be quick in his search for his daughter was a good idea but didn’t exactly do much good until after he talked to Sam about murder. One can only imagine the courage it took to ask his brother what he did. Once he got his answer though and got his head on straight, he became to get closer in his search for Tamara. It’s incredible what people will do for the ones they love – without thinking about what the other person wants/needs. You’ll understand what I mean more after next week’s episode. From one father to another…Daniel really showed his colors in this episode. After telling Zoe that he would find a way to get her a more human body if she let him know she was in the cylon and getting no response…his reaction was quite shocking and disturbing. The tests he put her through were so agonizing. My heart was beating so hard as Zoe was faced with the conflict of showing herself or keeping up the facade of the robot in front of him. Lacy disappointed the real Zoe…now is her chance to not repeat those disappointing actions for virtual Zoe. I won’t say whether or not she does, but I will say the this is only the first half of the season and next’s week’s episodes just raises the bar for expectations. Lastly, Amanda is still in a depressive, lost state and the news of Daniel hiring people to kill and steal is not making her predicament any better. Aside from Amanda, this was an incredibly entertaining episode to watch. Viewers will be anticipating each and every moment for what’s next as this has set up and open the doors to quite a lot. It really makes you conflicted with who you were originally rooting for and who you are now rooting for. That’s good writing, when the viewers are challenged just as much as the characters are. This is one of the best episodes of the season so far.