Photo Credit: The CW - Jay Ryan as Vincent Keller.
OVERALL GRADE = B (84%)
One of the cool things that I particularly enjoyed about this week’s chapter were some new elements that were introduced. Story wise, the episode developed the basic arc we have seen with this show: villain of the week. And of course more experiments and Vincent and Catherine dealing with Vincent’s beast. But one of the strongest things that held this episode up fairly well and made it more interesting was the comedy. A new element – one not particular for the typical darkness seen in Beauty and the Beast but one that showed the potential of the cast and brought a lighter mood to what may seem like a tumultuous turn up ahead. Things were still pretty soft in terms of danger and drama but I feel that each episode is going to build up on that threat looming over our favorite characters. The other aspect of the episode that has me dreading for what may soon happen is the revelation that JT is indeed a superhuman who will be affected by the medicine given to him by the DHS. I fear that it may end ugly and it has me excited for next week!
To address the comedy, I have to applaud Jay Ryan who brought out a hilarious character from Vincent – usually a somber and serious fellow. He brought out a side to Vincent that we never saw before: a nervous, sometimes childish guy with commitment issues. His performance was spot on with his facial expressions and body language. As far as I know, Ryan has more of a background in comedy than the other cast members, but the comedy bounced off each other perfectly. What makes it even more funny is this beast who’s not normal trying to figure out how to be normal. The chemistry between Kreuk, Ryan, and Nicole Gale Anderson worked well and they make a great team. There were certain acting habits I noticed that Kreuk does often. One of them was the way she is delicate with the way she handles Ryan. For example, when they hug and greet each other in the opening scene, Kreuk splays her arms out before her and doesn’t embrace Ryan confidently. It was an awkward hug but oh well – maybe it just emphasizes the nervousness between the two characters. Also, why does Catherine doubt Vincent’s commitment to their relationship? I find there would be no reason just because he was being weird. And again, HEATHER WAS THE VOICE OF REASON in this episode.
Now, let’s move on to Heather who served as a comedic pawn and a little cheerleader for VinCat. She has a habit of walking in unannounced and just casually randomly appearing in people’s showers. And to no surprise, her fiancé dumped her. And I like how Vincent doesn’t pay much mind to Heather’s drama. And even though Vincent did not speak a word of his primal issues, Heather was smart enough to figure out what Vincent was going through. So, in a sense Heather’s experience with her fiancé, helped Vincent and Catherine with their relationship.
Moving on to the heart of the issue – commit to compromise. This is seen more evidently in Vincent because he has physical reactions to his emotions but Catherine is experiencing some of the same fear Vincent is. And again, Tess and JT as sidekicks, help Vincent and Catherine to understand what they’re going through. Tess tells Catherine straight out that she is too controlling and that she needs to give up a bit to get what she wants. It can’t all be about what she wants. At first, this seems selfish of Catherine but if you think about it, it makes sense because Catherine has always lived alone, so she’s never had to SHARE anything with anyone. And again, Heather is the one that points this out to Vincent. JT tells Vincent that he shouldn’t be afraid of beasting out, that Catherine would save him. Yet, for some reason Vincent doesn’t believe that completely. But he has good reason to worry – he doesn’t want to hurt Catherine. Out of fear that Catherine may be afraid of him, Vincent ops to not tell Catherine which gives us some more comedy. I especially love how Catherine steers the car violently when Vincent finally tells her what was bugging him. It IS a BIG DEAL VINCENT! At the climax, Vincent has to be talked down by Catherine which I must say, is getting a bit repetitive for me. But this time, after he transformed to his human self, he gave a look to Catherine expressing his gratitude to her, feeling assured that Catherine would always be able to save him. Quite a different look from what we got last week. With regards to the subject of Vincent’s humanity, I liked that Vincent relied on his human abilities instead of his beast abilities to find and understand Alton a.k.a Electro. Vincent and Catherine always make a good team but this time, Vincent’s doctor knowledge came in very handy. Catherine’s character wasn’t as involved this time. In the end, it’s all about communication and compromise. Catherine states that there is no such things as “my problem” it’s now “our problem.” And, Catherine moves some of her stuff to make room for Vincent’s stuff. So, it ends well for them both.
On to our next couple – JT &T!! They impress me more and more each week with how devoted and caring they are of each other. I like that JT stands up for Tess. They bring out the best of each other and encourage each other that they are better than they believe to be. JT is more than just a geeky professor and Tess can be captain. This obviously signifies some changes for our characters. With JT, we know that his accurate shooting – it’s more than luck. JT is developing his superhuman side and one that we may not know much more of because Agent Thomas is dead. With Tess probably being captain, this implies her end with her partnership with Cat. Hence, the introduction of Cat’s new partner. I really liked the Cat-Tess partnership so I’m sad to see it go. But it’s all for the better.
The episode ends with a cliffhanger. Someone killed Agent Thomas – someone who knows about the experiments and someone that will be after Catherine, it seems. Officially, this marks the return of the hunt for Vincent and Catherine, also indicating hitting the pause button on their impending engagement. Like I said, the shocker part was when Agent Thomas to “be careful with JT.” And I mentioned being afraid – afraid of JT becoming a possible villain. Will their friendship remain?? How does this change things for Tess and JT?? At this point, Vincent is the only one who knows this information. I feel that he would discuss this with Catherine but I think they will keep this information from Tess and JT. It will be interesting to see how they deal with this new information and the build-up towards the mystery that is these experiments. This gives reason for Vincent to be completely committed to getting to the bottom of this, knowing that his best friend may be affected by this. Overall, great ensemble comedy and a nice arc for both of our couples with a lingering threat of danger makes a recipe for things to start heating up!
One of the cool things that I particularly enjoyed about this week’s chapter were some new elements that were introduced. Story wise, the episode developed the basic arc we have seen with this show: villain of the week. And of course more experiments and Vincent and Catherine dealing with Vincent’s beast. But one of the strongest things that held this episode up fairly well and made it more interesting was the comedy. A new element – one not particular for the typical darkness seen in Beauty and the Beast but one that showed the potential of the cast and brought a lighter mood to what may seem like a tumultuous turn up ahead. Things were still pretty soft in terms of danger and drama but I feel that each episode is going to build up on that threat looming over our favorite characters. The other aspect of the episode that has me dreading for what may soon happen is the revelation that JT is indeed a superhuman who will be affected by the medicine given to him by the DHS. I fear that it may end ugly and it has me excited for next week!
To address the comedy, I have to applaud Jay Ryan who brought out a hilarious character from Vincent – usually a somber and serious fellow. He brought out a side to Vincent that we never saw before: a nervous, sometimes childish guy with commitment issues. His performance was spot on with his facial expressions and body language. As far as I know, Ryan has more of a background in comedy than the other cast members, but the comedy bounced off each other perfectly. What makes it even more funny is this beast who’s not normal trying to figure out how to be normal. The chemistry between Kreuk, Ryan, and Nicole Gale Anderson worked well and they make a great team. There were certain acting habits I noticed that Kreuk does often. One of them was the way she is delicate with the way she handles Ryan. For example, when they hug and greet each other in the opening scene, Kreuk splays her arms out before her and doesn’t embrace Ryan confidently. It was an awkward hug but oh well – maybe it just emphasizes the nervousness between the two characters. Also, why does Catherine doubt Vincent’s commitment to their relationship? I find there would be no reason just because he was being weird. And again, HEATHER WAS THE VOICE OF REASON in this episode.
Now, let’s move on to Heather who served as a comedic pawn and a little cheerleader for VinCat. She has a habit of walking in unannounced and just casually randomly appearing in people’s showers. And to no surprise, her fiancé dumped her. And I like how Vincent doesn’t pay much mind to Heather’s drama. And even though Vincent did not speak a word of his primal issues, Heather was smart enough to figure out what Vincent was going through. So, in a sense Heather’s experience with her fiancé, helped Vincent and Catherine with their relationship.
Moving on to the heart of the issue – commit to compromise. This is seen more evidently in Vincent because he has physical reactions to his emotions but Catherine is experiencing some of the same fear Vincent is. And again, Tess and JT as sidekicks, help Vincent and Catherine to understand what they’re going through. Tess tells Catherine straight out that she is too controlling and that she needs to give up a bit to get what she wants. It can’t all be about what she wants. At first, this seems selfish of Catherine but if you think about it, it makes sense because Catherine has always lived alone, so she’s never had to SHARE anything with anyone. And again, Heather is the one that points this out to Vincent. JT tells Vincent that he shouldn’t be afraid of beasting out, that Catherine would save him. Yet, for some reason Vincent doesn’t believe that completely. But he has good reason to worry – he doesn’t want to hurt Catherine. Out of fear that Catherine may be afraid of him, Vincent ops to not tell Catherine which gives us some more comedy. I especially love how Catherine steers the car violently when Vincent finally tells her what was bugging him. It IS a BIG DEAL VINCENT! At the climax, Vincent has to be talked down by Catherine which I must say, is getting a bit repetitive for me. But this time, after he transformed to his human self, he gave a look to Catherine expressing his gratitude to her, feeling assured that Catherine would always be able to save him. Quite a different look from what we got last week. With regards to the subject of Vincent’s humanity, I liked that Vincent relied on his human abilities instead of his beast abilities to find and understand Alton a.k.a Electro. Vincent and Catherine always make a good team but this time, Vincent’s doctor knowledge came in very handy. Catherine’s character wasn’t as involved this time. In the end, it’s all about communication and compromise. Catherine states that there is no such things as “my problem” it’s now “our problem.” And, Catherine moves some of her stuff to make room for Vincent’s stuff. So, it ends well for them both.
On to our next couple – JT &T!! They impress me more and more each week with how devoted and caring they are of each other. I like that JT stands up for Tess. They bring out the best of each other and encourage each other that they are better than they believe to be. JT is more than just a geeky professor and Tess can be captain. This obviously signifies some changes for our characters. With JT, we know that his accurate shooting – it’s more than luck. JT is developing his superhuman side and one that we may not know much more of because Agent Thomas is dead. With Tess probably being captain, this implies her end with her partnership with Cat. Hence, the introduction of Cat’s new partner. I really liked the Cat-Tess partnership so I’m sad to see it go. But it’s all for the better.
The episode ends with a cliffhanger. Someone killed Agent Thomas – someone who knows about the experiments and someone that will be after Catherine, it seems. Officially, this marks the return of the hunt for Vincent and Catherine, also indicating hitting the pause button on their impending engagement. Like I said, the shocker part was when Agent Thomas to “be careful with JT.” And I mentioned being afraid – afraid of JT becoming a possible villain. Will their friendship remain?? How does this change things for Tess and JT?? At this point, Vincent is the only one who knows this information. I feel that he would discuss this with Catherine but I think they will keep this information from Tess and JT. It will be interesting to see how they deal with this new information and the build-up towards the mystery that is these experiments. This gives reason for Vincent to be completely committed to getting to the bottom of this, knowing that his best friend may be affected by this. Overall, great ensemble comedy and a nice arc for both of our couples with a lingering threat of danger makes a recipe for things to start heating up!