Photo Credit: The CW - Kristin Kreuk (L) as Catherine Chandler and Jay Ryan (R) as Vincent Keller.
OVERALL GRADE = B+(88%)
To say that, “love is a battlefield” is to say that love is a constant fight. You fight to earn the love you desire. You fight to keep the relationship going. And more importantly, you fight obstacles together. It goes beyond individual growth and focuses on the relationship, which will have to endure difficulties along the way. And thus, the title is fitting to depict Vincent and Catherine’s constant struggle to maintain the relationship they so deserve. Especially in this stage in their relationship where they are forced to work together in ways they haven’t before –apart. This week explored the challenges and difficulties Vincent and Catherine both faced individually having to work without the other and having to rely on themselves. At the same time, this interesting departure from the usual “team dynamic” invited fresher elements into the episode including unique character moments where we see Vincent and Catherine step out a bit of their usual environments. Despite the lack of communication and tricky situations, in the end, both Vincent and Catherine managed to gain the trust they needed from Graydal and the DHS. And hopefully, we’re one step closer to solving this mystery.
As I had mentioned in my last review, we find ourselves in a situation that is reminiscent of Season 1 where we’re literally back in square one. As Catherine makes note to Vincent, “This is how we met.” And it is this very complexity of their relationship that creates the drama. It’s what makes Vincent and Catherine’s relationship epic, dangerous, and unique. Having them work on opposite sides of the law makes them both tread ground that is forbidden and “wrong” but at the same time is “right.” By reintroducing this scenario, we’re getting all that is familiar to Vincent and Catherine such as the “stolen moments,” the risks, the dangers, the secrets, the lies, and those precious “VinCat” moments. That’s why these last couple of episodes have felt a bit more romantic to me. Additionally, the drama stems from seeing them go so far only to be pulled back to their beginnings.
What still feels rather slow is the progression of the reveal of the “big bad.” If we compare where we were last year with regards to the season’s progression – this time around, we had introduced Liam as the new goal. So, it worries me that we still haven’t pinned down who the “big bad” is. Episode and episode, we keep running around in circles, chasing guy after guy only to find out they have very little to do with the bounty. It’s frustrating and even the characters themselves feel the frustration. Building up suspense and mystery is a great storytelling technique but at this point, I feel that the show needs to pick it up much faster. Unless, the “big bad” is someone who has been under our noses the whole time. Either way, I think that there must be something more beyond the bounty. I’m curious to see how they’re going to throw me off track and deliver a killer finale.
The tricky thing about going undercover is keeping your emotions in check, which is proving to be hard for both Vincent and Catherine. Not hearing from one another in a week and not knowing what the other is up to adds to the emotional tension each is feeling for each other. And it is these emotions that are keeping both Graydal and DHS from trusting them. The challenge was to convince these people that they would be faithful and loyal to the organizations and not let their feelings get in the way. Let’s look at their approaches individually. Vincent’s plan was to claim that he was bitter about Catherine ‘betraying’ him and that Graydal would enable him to get his revenge. Why this can work: Vincent can prove to be a valuable asset – a hunted man – who may be what Graydal needs. Only then, can Vincent find out who’s behind the bounty. Caution: this may press Graydal to find out why Vincent is so special or why Hill wanted him dead. Conclusion: We risk exposure. Meanwhile, Catherine’s plan was to claim that Vincent was innocent and that he needed help with his ‘PTSD.’ Why this can work: Catherine is the only one who can bring Vincent in which proves she can be a valuable asset to DHS. Only then, can she free Vincent. Caution: if the DHS catch Catherine lying – she is going to face big consequences. Conclusion: They both risk losing everything. What’s more pressing is the fact that this is a risk they have to take because the other option would be to turn Vincent in for real. Catherine needs to gain the DHS’s trust in order to get access to Hill’s files and prove that he set Vincent up while Vincent needs to work his way up the chain to figure out who the beast buyer is. I’m hoping that somewhere down the line, these two paths will intersect and the results will be surprising.
In the beginning of the episode, Catherine was considered too ‘weak’ to bring Vincent in while Vincent was too much of a ‘hothead’ to trust. Through the events of the episode, Catherine saved her DHS boss (what happened to Morgan?) and managed to lead her to Vincent. And Vincent was able to prove his worth and managed to get the flash drive to his boss. What was fun to watch was to see both of their plans clash with each other. There were several points throughout the episode where they almost managed to blow each other’s cover. This leads me to my next point.
The ‘femme fetale’ assassin. She was suspicious of Vincent from the start and we don’t like her. And of course, she kissed Vincent. Which, by the way, who kisses that aggressively?? In the surveillance footage, it looked like she was mauling him in the middle of a party. I’m glad that Catherine didn’t think much of it. Yes, her inner woman was screaming jealousy but Catherine is a mature woman who trusts her husband and knew that he must’ve been with this woman for a case. It shows how much their relationship has grown and that they don’t feel insecure about possible infidelities. In fact, JT was the one who was acting like the worried wife - funny! Well, nobody likes a backstabber and she got hers.
Did anyone else find it compelling that at the climax of the episode Vincent was busy saving the security guard while Catherine was busy killing blondie? But amidst all the chaos and backstabbing, Catherine and Vincent decided that this ‘non communication’ did not work for them. That they needed to come up with another system of working. And of course, Catherine managed to obtain the flash drive Vincent needed. So in the end, it’s a win win for everyone (except blondie). And we see that both Vincent and Catherine managed to gain the trust of their respective bosses. Vincent will now be doing high profile missions and Catherine will now be leading the search for Vincent. So convenient!
In other news, I liked that Heather’s social media skills became useful to JT. And of course, it’s always fun to see her act as cupid for both JT and Tess. Also, loved her ‘Rosie the Riveter’ outfit!
Jumping to our other couple, I’m surprised that Tess is starting to date other people. At this point, it seems that Tess is just uninterested in JT and wants to move on to something different. Or perhaps she just can’t come to face the idea that the rest of her life will be spent with JT. Since the beginning, it was hard for Tess to admit how she felt about JT. And slowly, we’ve been seeing her open up only to see her close up again and become the Tess from season 1 – in every respect. She’s pushing JT away and urging Catherine that she’s doing the wrong thing by protecting Vincent. What caused her to turn so quickly? Perhaps the realization that her relationship with JT was getting serious? She got scared and flipped this situation on JT. Hopefully, JT will be able to see through her and understand how she feels. Either way, I thought it was a sour move by Tess because she was supposed to wait for him and support him through his path to rediscovery. To see Tess moving on means that he’s losing her in more ways than one.
With regards to that last scene so many fans are talking about, it definitely took me off guard. Naughty but playful. Let me just say this: I’m surprised they went there – or at least, that Vincent went there. One thing’s for sure, Catherine may be stressed all the time, but at least she is one satisfied woman!
See you next week!
To say that, “love is a battlefield” is to say that love is a constant fight. You fight to earn the love you desire. You fight to keep the relationship going. And more importantly, you fight obstacles together. It goes beyond individual growth and focuses on the relationship, which will have to endure difficulties along the way. And thus, the title is fitting to depict Vincent and Catherine’s constant struggle to maintain the relationship they so deserve. Especially in this stage in their relationship where they are forced to work together in ways they haven’t before –apart. This week explored the challenges and difficulties Vincent and Catherine both faced individually having to work without the other and having to rely on themselves. At the same time, this interesting departure from the usual “team dynamic” invited fresher elements into the episode including unique character moments where we see Vincent and Catherine step out a bit of their usual environments. Despite the lack of communication and tricky situations, in the end, both Vincent and Catherine managed to gain the trust they needed from Graydal and the DHS. And hopefully, we’re one step closer to solving this mystery.
As I had mentioned in my last review, we find ourselves in a situation that is reminiscent of Season 1 where we’re literally back in square one. As Catherine makes note to Vincent, “This is how we met.” And it is this very complexity of their relationship that creates the drama. It’s what makes Vincent and Catherine’s relationship epic, dangerous, and unique. Having them work on opposite sides of the law makes them both tread ground that is forbidden and “wrong” but at the same time is “right.” By reintroducing this scenario, we’re getting all that is familiar to Vincent and Catherine such as the “stolen moments,” the risks, the dangers, the secrets, the lies, and those precious “VinCat” moments. That’s why these last couple of episodes have felt a bit more romantic to me. Additionally, the drama stems from seeing them go so far only to be pulled back to their beginnings.
What still feels rather slow is the progression of the reveal of the “big bad.” If we compare where we were last year with regards to the season’s progression – this time around, we had introduced Liam as the new goal. So, it worries me that we still haven’t pinned down who the “big bad” is. Episode and episode, we keep running around in circles, chasing guy after guy only to find out they have very little to do with the bounty. It’s frustrating and even the characters themselves feel the frustration. Building up suspense and mystery is a great storytelling technique but at this point, I feel that the show needs to pick it up much faster. Unless, the “big bad” is someone who has been under our noses the whole time. Either way, I think that there must be something more beyond the bounty. I’m curious to see how they’re going to throw me off track and deliver a killer finale.
The tricky thing about going undercover is keeping your emotions in check, which is proving to be hard for both Vincent and Catherine. Not hearing from one another in a week and not knowing what the other is up to adds to the emotional tension each is feeling for each other. And it is these emotions that are keeping both Graydal and DHS from trusting them. The challenge was to convince these people that they would be faithful and loyal to the organizations and not let their feelings get in the way. Let’s look at their approaches individually. Vincent’s plan was to claim that he was bitter about Catherine ‘betraying’ him and that Graydal would enable him to get his revenge. Why this can work: Vincent can prove to be a valuable asset – a hunted man – who may be what Graydal needs. Only then, can Vincent find out who’s behind the bounty. Caution: this may press Graydal to find out why Vincent is so special or why Hill wanted him dead. Conclusion: We risk exposure. Meanwhile, Catherine’s plan was to claim that Vincent was innocent and that he needed help with his ‘PTSD.’ Why this can work: Catherine is the only one who can bring Vincent in which proves she can be a valuable asset to DHS. Only then, can she free Vincent. Caution: if the DHS catch Catherine lying – she is going to face big consequences. Conclusion: They both risk losing everything. What’s more pressing is the fact that this is a risk they have to take because the other option would be to turn Vincent in for real. Catherine needs to gain the DHS’s trust in order to get access to Hill’s files and prove that he set Vincent up while Vincent needs to work his way up the chain to figure out who the beast buyer is. I’m hoping that somewhere down the line, these two paths will intersect and the results will be surprising.
In the beginning of the episode, Catherine was considered too ‘weak’ to bring Vincent in while Vincent was too much of a ‘hothead’ to trust. Through the events of the episode, Catherine saved her DHS boss (what happened to Morgan?) and managed to lead her to Vincent. And Vincent was able to prove his worth and managed to get the flash drive to his boss. What was fun to watch was to see both of their plans clash with each other. There were several points throughout the episode where they almost managed to blow each other’s cover. This leads me to my next point.
The ‘femme fetale’ assassin. She was suspicious of Vincent from the start and we don’t like her. And of course, she kissed Vincent. Which, by the way, who kisses that aggressively?? In the surveillance footage, it looked like she was mauling him in the middle of a party. I’m glad that Catherine didn’t think much of it. Yes, her inner woman was screaming jealousy but Catherine is a mature woman who trusts her husband and knew that he must’ve been with this woman for a case. It shows how much their relationship has grown and that they don’t feel insecure about possible infidelities. In fact, JT was the one who was acting like the worried wife - funny! Well, nobody likes a backstabber and she got hers.
Did anyone else find it compelling that at the climax of the episode Vincent was busy saving the security guard while Catherine was busy killing blondie? But amidst all the chaos and backstabbing, Catherine and Vincent decided that this ‘non communication’ did not work for them. That they needed to come up with another system of working. And of course, Catherine managed to obtain the flash drive Vincent needed. So in the end, it’s a win win for everyone (except blondie). And we see that both Vincent and Catherine managed to gain the trust of their respective bosses. Vincent will now be doing high profile missions and Catherine will now be leading the search for Vincent. So convenient!
In other news, I liked that Heather’s social media skills became useful to JT. And of course, it’s always fun to see her act as cupid for both JT and Tess. Also, loved her ‘Rosie the Riveter’ outfit!
Jumping to our other couple, I’m surprised that Tess is starting to date other people. At this point, it seems that Tess is just uninterested in JT and wants to move on to something different. Or perhaps she just can’t come to face the idea that the rest of her life will be spent with JT. Since the beginning, it was hard for Tess to admit how she felt about JT. And slowly, we’ve been seeing her open up only to see her close up again and become the Tess from season 1 – in every respect. She’s pushing JT away and urging Catherine that she’s doing the wrong thing by protecting Vincent. What caused her to turn so quickly? Perhaps the realization that her relationship with JT was getting serious? She got scared and flipped this situation on JT. Hopefully, JT will be able to see through her and understand how she feels. Either way, I thought it was a sour move by Tess because she was supposed to wait for him and support him through his path to rediscovery. To see Tess moving on means that he’s losing her in more ways than one.
With regards to that last scene so many fans are talking about, it definitely took me off guard. Naughty but playful. Let me just say this: I’m surprised they went there – or at least, that Vincent went there. One thing’s for sure, Catherine may be stressed all the time, but at least she is one satisfied woman!
See you next week!