*Reviews May Contain Spoilers*
Gossip Girl – The Hurt Locket
Serena: You don’t need Chuck. Anyone that meets you can see you’re an elitist snob that belongs in a secret society. Bon chance!
Blair: Merci!
This episode was not as entertaining as I would have expected for a return after not being on the air for quite some time. Dan is ready to get serious with Vanessa but she is not and honestly, I think Dan can do better. Someone who seemed to do some good for himself is Rufus, who took some alone time to wrap his head around what Lily did with her ex-husband. When will the ice cool between these two? I like the tension but only for so long. If there is one happy, stable couple on the show, let it be these two. Though there is another one for the time being…Serena & Nate are happily together and taking things “slow” which is thrilling to see since they seem so fit for each other. Serena & Nate, Chuck & Blair…good couples. Though there was no light shown on the latter since in this episode Chuck had a personal agenda with his mother! This storyline is much more interesting than many of Chuck’s past side story lines so it will be very exciting to see how this story line plays out. Saving the least important for last…Jenny. She is so incredibly annoying. Jenny has made a complete 360 degree change from Season 1 and it’s not a positive change in any way. It would be awfully nice if this chick were sent off to boarding school and never heard from again. This girl has got issues and none that I want to see because her attitude and not just naive but selfish outlook on things is such a complete turn off. Unfortunately, all of the characters turn me off in one way or another and it is very unusual for me to stick with a show when I clearly am not satisfied with the characters decisions and way of thinking. For some reason though, I am still hooked to this show…so I can only hope for the best to come. We’ve seen it before on the show, let’s get that spark back.
90210 – Rats and Heroes
Dixon: What happened the night of the dance, it just happened. Will it happen again? Probably.
What an exciting return for 90210! Fans were surprised by quite a lot in this episode. Starting with Navid…he is such a good guy that it is not quite expected of him to get cocaine in order to frame someone. Yet he attempted to do just that to Jasper with the hesitant help of Dixon. Unfortunately, he should have listened to Liam and Dixon the first time they told him it was a bad idea. Instead, the tables were turned on him and now it seems Navid may have to pay the price for possessing drugs. Speaking of paying the price…not sure whether to sympathize or feel satisfied with Annie’s predicament of being blackmailed into staying in a relationship with Jasper. This is something that viewers saw coming but what was not expected was Annie’s reaction. Even after all that she has gone through, she still does not take use of the good friends that she has. All of them against Jasper and she could be okay. Though that is if she wants to live with her secret quietly. Otherwise, she should just come forward and pay the price for what she did. Back to her brother, Dixon…unfortunately fans were tricked into believing that he had gotten back together with Silver! People change for the better, people grow, so I know that I was willing to see Dixon & Silver try again. Though Silver didn’t seem to feel the same way. No matter what Silver felt though, it was not right for Dixon to tell Teddy that he and Silver were talking about getting back together. If Dixon really loved Silver, he would give her all the time that she needed to come back to him. Maybe she will, maybe she won’t. Either way is fine, so long as both of them are not being misleading about their intentions. Silver’s buddy, Adrianna seems to be on the right path with her AA class and their best bud, Naomi was just adorable in this episode. Naomi is most likable when she is all in lover (or lust) and completely flustered. It is so fun to see Naomi in this state, happy, and drama free (for the time being). Everything about this episode was done right and it was just another reminder as to why I love this show so much. Great job, anticipating more!
Melrose Place – Oriole
Jonah: Forever with Riley is a lifetime of playing it by ear. Ella knows what she wants. That’s refreshing.
This was a decent episode. Unfortunately I’m so over this show. The direction that many of the characters are going seems somewhat exciting but it is all so predictable and even when it’s not, I find myself not thrilled with the characters decisions. Right now I am happy that Jonah & Ella are together and he is not stringing Riley along. Riley deserves better and Jonah’s decision in being a player at first was so disappointing. Also disappointing was Violet being jealous of whatever Riley & Auggie supposedly had. Thankfully, that jealousy didn’t last long as Auggie and Violet left Melrose for what else is out there for the two. Bon voyage. The only story line that really grabbed me is Lauren’s story line. David defending her honor, still without a clue that she is a prostitute was sweet and yet disturbing because he went all out. So what will he do when he finds out the truth about her whereabouts and what she does? Lastly, Ella & Amanda and just hysterical together as Ella continues to be seen in a positive and reliable light while Amanda continues to knock her down. Good times. Overall, this episode brought more yawns than it did laughs, draw drops, or anything else. Maybe next week will be better?
Ugly Betty – Fire and Nice
Wilhelmina: Oh she seems really excited.
Nice episode we’ve got here. Wilhelmina trying to be the cool and down to earth Wanda that she used to be after bumping into an old friend brought a few laughs as she was so uncomfortable with being nice! If that wasn’t enough, she ends up on a double date with Betty and an annoying fireman that Betty was using for her advantage. Surprisingly, Betty was the one who started the house fire – not Marc! Talk about a shocker. I was fooled. Great twist. Not so great though was the misleading build up to a deep relationship talk with Justin and Marc when all Marc had to talk about was the house fire. Maybe now that Hilda is engaged (yay!) Justin will think more about his on relationships and where he stands, what makes him most comfortable. There are only 5 more episodes left of the series to make a clear statement, so only time will tell what’s left open ended. A story line that does seem to be wrapping up nicely is Tyler’s as Daniel finally finds out about his brother. Hopefully Daniel won’t take out his anger about not knowing on Tyler. Although he will have reason to be angry at Amanda if Amanda does indeed hook up with Tyler since Amanda and Daniel are hooking up. Casual or not, I’m sure Daniel really does care about Amanda. And for a last love interest in the series, Amanda and Daniel make a good pair. Looking forward to the last 5 episodes of the series. This was a great episode, this has been an incredibly entertaining and well written season so far…I have reason to believe that the ending will be very satisfying.
The Office – The Delivery
Dwight: I couldn’t find your ipod. Just give me a couple of days and I’ll be out of you hair.
The best episode of the season, the highlight of the series has come! And it all started out with a hilarious cold open as Dwight discussed how he could outsell Pam & Jim. Dwight has 2 missions in this episode…laying down agreements with Angela to bear his baby boy and renovating Pam & Jim’s kitchen after he finds mold (not Pam’s iPod as which was supposed to be looking for and doing all of this after sleeping in Pam & Jim’s bed naked). As for the office…Jim & Pam trying to have the baby after midnight for insurance purposes was a smart idea but ultimately not the best as Pam almost didn’t make it to the hospital! Best line came from Michael as he shouted, “She’s contrampting!” This shout definitely brought the laughs and will always make me laugh no matter how many times I watch this episode. The comedy just got better and better as the episode went on and Jim was razzled as the office tried to distract Pam. Andy dancing, Ryan reading poetry, and Erin spewing out random trivia was quite funny and a great distraction. Thankfully though, Pam’s water broke and her changing clothes because of it tipped off Jim to the urgency of getting to the hospital. The only fault that I saw was Pam tipping off Jim about the sex of the baby because they didn’t have much longer until the birth, so Pam should have just waited it out instead of calling the doctor early on about the sex of the baby. Perhaps the funniest moment right before heading to the hospital involved Michael of course as he practically sat on Jim and echoed his encouraging words to Pam and then freaked out about having a go bag. In the second half, the hilarity continued as Michael considered himself family and then turned around to head to the waiting room once he saw what was going on in the delivery room. Poor guy doesn’t know what to do with himself, try to be a prominent figure in Pam & Jim’s life or hook up co-workers in the office. Frankly, it would be best to do neither, but this is Michael we are talking about. Lastly, Pam’s breastfeeding troubles and feeding the wrong baby…that will never fail to make viewers laugh because even outside of the office, the writers stick with realistic and relatable situations and find a way to make it even more hysterical than it is in real life. Fabulous episode!
The Office – St. Patrick’s Day
Jo: Oh you don’t become the most powerful woman in Tallahassee by slacking off. You do it by working hard or marrying rich. I did both.
This was quite a good episode. I half expected more comedy though instead of uncomfortable tension and awkwardness between Jo and Michael (who doesn’t even seem to notice it). The office gets dressed up for St. Patrick’s Day but the episode really isn’t about the holiday at all aside from that. Erin & Andy have their first date all planned but Erin is sick so Andy pretends he is sick too so Jo can send him home. Though after he surprises Erin at home, Erin surprises him when Andy meets Erin’s foster brother. Will Andy just work on dating Erin or will he work on that and getting to know this foster brother as well and the story behind him and Erin? What will Andy & Erin’s first date be? This episode really amped up the anticipation! Back at the office. Michael tries to impress Jo but Darryl ends up impressing Jo so he gets Jim’s old office! Good job Darryl! It would be nice to see more of Darryl, so hopefully this story line lasts for some time. As for Michael…it was completely understandable when he made everyone stay and work overtime since he was intimidated by Jo but what Kevin said about him and his co-workers having lives was one of my favorite lines! If Michael and the team really worked their hardest everyday, Michael wouldn’t have needed to try to impress Jo. Plus, working when scheduled and then having a life outside of work and having your boss not acknowledge that is an issue I’d say the majority of us in the real world deal with most of the time, so that was fun to see played out. Overall, this was a very well written episode story wise but comedy wise, there seemed to be a bit lacking. Still an enjoyable episode to watch though.
Caprica – Know Thy Enemy
Barnabas: You’re a very bright girl. I can’t help you, I don’t want to. Go.
Lacy: No.
Barnabas: Go!
There was quite a lot going on in this episode and no major revelations, and still I feel like I only really took in about half of what went on. First there is Daniel Graystone facing his rival, Vergis. Vergis is trying to take Daniel down as he knows about the stolen MCP and how 2 of his men were killed in the process. Since Vergis is an old rival, this story line seemed to be a distraction from and a step back from where the show is heading by looking back. So I wasn’t too pleased with this story line. Then there is Amanda who was drowning in her sorrows and completely missed how Sister Clarice stole Daniel’s data to close in on Zoe’s avatar. Sister Clarice visited Amanda to “check up on her” but if Amanda can get out of her “woe is me” state of mind, she might be able to see what is going on and be more protective of the last bit of what she & Daniel have together. At this moment, Sister Clarice didn’t interact with Lacy since Lacy had her own agenda. Keon took Lacy to meet STO believer Barnabus played by James Marsters (Buffy) for help but doesn’t get any. Just as Joseph heads into the virtual world on his own to try to find help in his search for his wife & daughter and ends up meeting Daniel’s virtual self who is no help at all. Surprisingly, Zoe met up with Philemon in the virtual world and they presumably hooked up, after she saw how lonely he was. Everybody’s lonely, so I do not see more logic on her actions, especially after the way he treats Zoe’s cylon. He treats her better than he did in the beginning, but still. Anyway, with only 3 episodes left of the season, this episode was a bit of a disappointment as there was not much story development when there are many more story lines to continue to develop. This is definitely a sleeper, not an episode to be remembered.
Caprica – The Imperfections of Memory
Amanda: I was having trouble coping with reality. I went crazy.
Another great episode of Caprica this one is. In the beginning of the episode, Amanda believed she saw her dead brother on the street near the memorial for those killed in the bombing. She later admits that she has been going crazy while confiding in Sister Clarice. My concern though is if Sister Clarice was being a true friend or helping Amanda anyway she needs to be helped is just an extra step in helping her. Which brings me to when Zoe tells Lacy that Sister Clarice was messing with her dad’s computer. Afterwords, Lacy said that she never let Lacy 2.0 down and never will. Powerful moment since she put Zoe’s avatar in her place. Let’s just hope if Lacy does join STO and Barnabus helps her get to Geminon, Lacy’s what seems to be new love interest won’t distract her. Speaking of love interest, Zoe calculated every move that she would make when going on a date with Daniel’s assistant in the virtual world. She tells the guy directly and yet indirectly that letting the robot (aka herself) out could benefit the real world. Which brings us to the final moment in the episode when Daniel finally realizes that the cylon is Zoe! Yes! Finally! What a thrilling moment this was! Definitely anticipating what Daniel is going to do now. Finally, in the virtual world…Joseph enlists the help of Tamara’s friend in the search for Tamara in Cap City but Joseph ends up getting her friend killed. So now he can never go back into the virtual world and Joseph gets a guide to help in his search…for a price. It’s unknown what that price is exactly but with just a few episodes left…it will be very interesting to see what happens with Joseph and all of the characters. Overall, this was a fabulous episode. My main concern is making Amanda more likable as she is depressed and there is really no character growth. Other than that, I love how complex and real all of these characters are, the religious ties heavily incorporated into this world, and the creativity involved in the virtual worlds. That’s just a short list of what I love about this show and this episode rocked, so looking forward to more.