Photo Credit: The CW - Jay Ryan (L) and Kristin Kreuk (L) as Vincent Keller and Catherine Chandler.
OVERALL GRADE = B+ (87%)
It’s all in the family! With the wedding coming closer and closer, family issues are always a welcome surprise! NOT. I had my own expectations coming into this week’s episode because I was aware that there was a very emotional scene from Catherine perfectly executed by Kristin Kreuk. I, of course, am not one to get the ‘feels’ that often, but when that scene came on, boy did that deliver! Kreuk truly shone this week and is the reason why this episode held itself up to par, despite there being no real Vincat moments (it’ll come soon!) It was refreshing because while we still dealt with the same old superhuman hunt, the story focused around Catherine – one that fans have been wanting for, as I had previously discussed. It was about time to dedicate some storytime for Catherine – without it having to deal with Vincent’s beast issues. So what’s Catherine’s issue?? It all stems back to her mother and Catherine using anger as a way to suppress her own feelings and avoiding confrontation. Until, of course that bubble burst with the wedding coming and all. It was worth exploring because it led to some really great character development and a very memorable scene – one of the best!!
Before this week’s episode, I never stopped to think that, “Oh shit. Catherine will have none of her parents with her at her wedding!” That sucks and that’s tough. And the reality of that really hits Catherine this week. And there’s two reasons why: a) Heather is so naïve about her mom’s involvement with Muirfield and b) Catherine’s aunts keep comparing Cat to her mother. All this time, Catherine has made peace by not dealing with it and ignoring it but now with her family members here, it’s inevitable to keep this tension in check. Now, the same applies to Vincent – none of his parents are going be there either. Yet, JT tries to reach out to some very distant family members. However, Vincent doesn’t feel comfortable with these strangers and ends up realizing that his true family rests with his friends. He’s ok with that. I didn’t like Hank anyways. With Catherine, it’s difficult because she suffered a traumatic experience with her mother and she is the only one who knows the dark secret her mother kept. Catherine never really let her mother go and that was what was holding her back. I did find it strange that Catherine never decided to look in that box under her nightstand and never figured that there was a tape in there that explained everything. It only could’ve saved her ten years of emotional angst. Thanks DAD!!
Now, let’s talk about that tape! Kristin nailed Catherine’s emotional torture because she had to make us feel all of the pent up emotion that Catherine had kept bottled up for so long. And the most chilling part was when towards the end of the tape, her mom gets up to answer a call – it’s Catherine – and it was that fateful call Catherine made that dreadful night that led to her mother’s murder. I literally felt goosebumps and when Kristin let out a bark – that got me. How would you feel if you were watching the moment before you knew your mother would die?? Of course, Catherine needed to see this to finally understand and forgive her mother. But most importantly to move past this ‘obstacle’ of hers in order to “find love and be happy.” Heather and Catherine then have a sisterly moment where they both understand their mother and each other. Although, I must admit, Catherine was a bit harsh to Heather. Also, really bad moment to have a meltdown Catherine at your own bridal shower! She was pretty mean, insulting everyone, and saying that she was glad her mom was dead?? Whoah. But I think she was angrier with the fact that everyone was comparing Vanessa with her. “You look just like your mother!” Catherine felt that she didn’t deserve to be compared to her mother because of everything that she had caused with Vincent, them, and the world. It kind of reminded me a bit of Season 1.
There was something also quite religious about this episode. Other than the fact that it began and ended in the church, that last scene felt like Catherine had been reborn and baptized, in a way. I do wish that Vincent was there when Catherine was having her breakdown, but I think it was something that she needed to deal with herself. It was her issue.
With regards to the experiments, it seems like the enemy has gotten closer to Vincat than Vincat getting closer to finding out who is behind all this. And that’s bad. Now, that they know who Vincat are, we know things are only going to get worse. And I think this villain is pretty scary because we’re almost half way through the season, and we STILL have no idea who this person/entity is. I’m afraid it’ll intervene in Vincent and Catherine’s wedding because in the last scene, when Catherine finally gets rid of her obstacle and is ready to start wedding planning, gas bombs are thrown into the church. I was like NO!!! I’m going to call this guy Voldemort because he looked like he came out of a Harry Potter movie. SANCTUARY!! Sidenote: great motorcycle chase scene!! I also had no idea Catherine knew how to drift.
All in all, I’m glad the stripper didn’t cause any problems, I’m glad that Catherine is now better, and we can now focus on Vincat wedding while people try to kill them. It’s all building up and I hope for more Vincat moments!!
It’s all in the family! With the wedding coming closer and closer, family issues are always a welcome surprise! NOT. I had my own expectations coming into this week’s episode because I was aware that there was a very emotional scene from Catherine perfectly executed by Kristin Kreuk. I, of course, am not one to get the ‘feels’ that often, but when that scene came on, boy did that deliver! Kreuk truly shone this week and is the reason why this episode held itself up to par, despite there being no real Vincat moments (it’ll come soon!) It was refreshing because while we still dealt with the same old superhuman hunt, the story focused around Catherine – one that fans have been wanting for, as I had previously discussed. It was about time to dedicate some storytime for Catherine – without it having to deal with Vincent’s beast issues. So what’s Catherine’s issue?? It all stems back to her mother and Catherine using anger as a way to suppress her own feelings and avoiding confrontation. Until, of course that bubble burst with the wedding coming and all. It was worth exploring because it led to some really great character development and a very memorable scene – one of the best!!
Before this week’s episode, I never stopped to think that, “Oh shit. Catherine will have none of her parents with her at her wedding!” That sucks and that’s tough. And the reality of that really hits Catherine this week. And there’s two reasons why: a) Heather is so naïve about her mom’s involvement with Muirfield and b) Catherine’s aunts keep comparing Cat to her mother. All this time, Catherine has made peace by not dealing with it and ignoring it but now with her family members here, it’s inevitable to keep this tension in check. Now, the same applies to Vincent – none of his parents are going be there either. Yet, JT tries to reach out to some very distant family members. However, Vincent doesn’t feel comfortable with these strangers and ends up realizing that his true family rests with his friends. He’s ok with that. I didn’t like Hank anyways. With Catherine, it’s difficult because she suffered a traumatic experience with her mother and she is the only one who knows the dark secret her mother kept. Catherine never really let her mother go and that was what was holding her back. I did find it strange that Catherine never decided to look in that box under her nightstand and never figured that there was a tape in there that explained everything. It only could’ve saved her ten years of emotional angst. Thanks DAD!!
Now, let’s talk about that tape! Kristin nailed Catherine’s emotional torture because she had to make us feel all of the pent up emotion that Catherine had kept bottled up for so long. And the most chilling part was when towards the end of the tape, her mom gets up to answer a call – it’s Catherine – and it was that fateful call Catherine made that dreadful night that led to her mother’s murder. I literally felt goosebumps and when Kristin let out a bark – that got me. How would you feel if you were watching the moment before you knew your mother would die?? Of course, Catherine needed to see this to finally understand and forgive her mother. But most importantly to move past this ‘obstacle’ of hers in order to “find love and be happy.” Heather and Catherine then have a sisterly moment where they both understand their mother and each other. Although, I must admit, Catherine was a bit harsh to Heather. Also, really bad moment to have a meltdown Catherine at your own bridal shower! She was pretty mean, insulting everyone, and saying that she was glad her mom was dead?? Whoah. But I think she was angrier with the fact that everyone was comparing Vanessa with her. “You look just like your mother!” Catherine felt that she didn’t deserve to be compared to her mother because of everything that she had caused with Vincent, them, and the world. It kind of reminded me a bit of Season 1.
There was something also quite religious about this episode. Other than the fact that it began and ended in the church, that last scene felt like Catherine had been reborn and baptized, in a way. I do wish that Vincent was there when Catherine was having her breakdown, but I think it was something that she needed to deal with herself. It was her issue.
With regards to the experiments, it seems like the enemy has gotten closer to Vincat than Vincat getting closer to finding out who is behind all this. And that’s bad. Now, that they know who Vincat are, we know things are only going to get worse. And I think this villain is pretty scary because we’re almost half way through the season, and we STILL have no idea who this person/entity is. I’m afraid it’ll intervene in Vincent and Catherine’s wedding because in the last scene, when Catherine finally gets rid of her obstacle and is ready to start wedding planning, gas bombs are thrown into the church. I was like NO!!! I’m going to call this guy Voldemort because he looked like he came out of a Harry Potter movie. SANCTUARY!! Sidenote: great motorcycle chase scene!! I also had no idea Catherine knew how to drift.
All in all, I’m glad the stripper didn’t cause any problems, I’m glad that Catherine is now better, and we can now focus on Vincat wedding while people try to kill them. It’s all building up and I hope for more Vincat moments!!