TV Recap: There’s just, there’s a lot of stuff I haven’t done.
Life Unexpected (s2ep01): Ocean Uncharted
★★★
In the second-season opener, Cate and Ryan are greeted with changes at work upon their return from their honeymoon. Lux meets a guy who’s new in town as she and Bug reach a turning point in their relationship.
The Vampire Diaries (s2ep02): Brave New World
★★★★
Caroline wakes up in the hospital. Meanwhile, Damon suspects Mason, and Bonnie gets angry with Damon.
Nikita (s1ep02): 2.0
★★★
Nikita tries to interfere with Division’s protective custody of a Slavic leader wanted for war crimes. Meanwhile, Alex is activated ahead of schedule.
Life Unexpected (s2ep01): Ocean Uncharted
Yay! It’s back. One of the things I really like about this show is it feels like going back to the days of WB when we had Gilmore Girls or Everwood. The days when we had good family dramas. Ah, the memories.
Cate: We just got home, we’re about to make margaritas…and bread.
Unlike other shows that ignore any sense of continuity, things are as we left them, just a month later. Baze and his dad’s reestablished relationship is still going strong as they play basketball together. The happy couple Ryan and Cate are back from their honeymoon and even took Lux along.
OMG, Ryan and Cate undressing and getting romantic after Lux leaves for the day. So suave. I kept waiting for something to happen like her walking back in, etc. That would have been traumatizing. But Ryan and Cate are too cute together.
Bug: We know we want to be together forever.
Lux: Yeah, I mean, I mean, yes. Yes, of course.
And what’s with partial nudity in this episode? First Cate, then Lux. Is this the network’s doing? Oh, Bug proposing. On the one hand it could be sweet, but it’s also ridiculous as they’re way to young and lives aren’t even grounded. And Lux saying yes? They’re only 16, come on.
Theme song! Clips from last season!
Cate: You cannot be a marriage expert and not be married. That is like being a sex expert and still being a virgin.
Kelly: I am.
Cate: A sex expert?
Kelly: A virgin.
Cate: I’m saving myself for marriage like Jessica Simpson. And Jesus. Technically, I’m a born-again virgin.
Meanwhile, the radio show hires a new co-host, because apparently they’re boring now that they’re married. She is so annoying. And I guess it’s supposed to be funny, but she is so ridiculous to even be hired. “I’m saving myself for marriage. Like Jessica Simpson. And Jesus. Technically I’m a born-again virgin.” I don’t like this Kelly for multiple reasons, including she seems to have her sights set on Ryan.
Cate: Our show’s being taken over by a fake, smug virgin whose job it is to pick apart our marriage on-air. I mean, how can it be worse than that?
Ryan: If we’ve proven anything to ourselves these last few months…it’s that we can handle third wheels.
Poor, Ryan. You get married, come back from your honeymoon, and Baze is still there. On the otherhand, I can understand Baze needing to talk to her in order to move on. But oh gods with Jamie telling Lux: “And it made Cate choosing Ryan a little easier, you know? Knowing that you wanted Cate to choose him.”
Baze: Cate, listen, listen to me, I am not trying to make you hate me more. I just want to fix things with you.
Cate: Okay, well, you can’t fix things with me, Baze, because we are broken. We’re always gonna be broken.
I so knew Cate would lie to Ryan in order to see Baze. They’re cute together, but they don’t have the most honest relationship. You’d think she’d have learned her lesson. Granted, she’s also still lying to herself: ”I said what if a part of me was in love with you, which is a totally different thing.” It also makes her bitter and hurtful: “Do you not get it? I did not choose you. Neither did she.”
Lux: There’s just…there’s a lot of stuff I haven’t done.
Eric: Huh, that’s usually code for I haven’t dated enough people.
Oh, Lux. A new guy and you’re already flirting, and with a ring on. I know it’s for purposes of the story, but way to go out driving with someone you just met. And of course we all knew they’d get stuck out there together.
Cate: Lux, he ran into a burning building because I told him that you were in there. So no, I don’t think he’s going to be okay.
OMG, Baze! Into the fire! this is totally why you do not lie about where you are, kids. Ouch, my heart hurts for Baze. This is the first triangle where I want both sides to win: “I could never hate you.” And Cate totally didn’t answer him on what if he’d gotten there earlier to the church.
Lux: That’s not fair! I was happy how we were. Then you went and asked me a question that no normal 16 year old should have to answer.
On the one hand it sucks that Bug and Lux didn’t work out. On the other hand they both have a lot of growin up to do. There’s been quite a few times that Bug has made me want to kick him on how he’s treated Lux: “What makes you think that you could ever be normal?”
Trina: It’s no secret. I’ve never been a fan. I find you grating, abrasive…
I can’t believe Cate was fired from the radio show. But even worse is now Ryan and Kelly are having their own show…together. Ick. And now both of Lux’s parents are unemployed. Ouch.
Baze: I want to be the one to fix this. I want to be the one to make this right. I want to rebuild this bar from the ground up. Fix everything else in my life that’s broken.
Poor Baze and his bar. There goes his livelihood burnt crispy. But it’s kind of a metaphor, everything sucked and now he gets to build it all back up again. This show hurts my heart. I wonder if Paige is ever going to be held responsible for accidentally burning the bar down.
Eric: (giving Lux his digits) My number - in case you want to go see something else sometime.
Surprises leading us into the season: Oh god, what/when did Ryan do with this Julia? I kind of feel like they didn’t know how to make Ryan ‘bad’, so they came out with this news.
Baze! You slept with Ryan’s sister, Paige? And this girl is totally Lexi from Vampire Diaries. And her coming to love with Ryan, I smell trouble.
And Eric turns out to be Lux’s teacher. Just like pretty little liars, but better. Do you want something to happen with them?
All in all, not a bad episode, but I feel like the show is going somewhere different this season. This could be a bad and good thing. On the one hand the network is meddling and trying to attract more viewers, but on the hand it’s losing it’s natural feel. I still love the family dynamic and humorous one-liners though.
The Vampire Diaries (s2ep02): Brave New World
Another excellent episode. We start off again pretty much where they left us last week. Caroline wakes up starving, of course, and is greeted by the most annoying night nurse. And par for the course, Caroline quickly happens upon a bag of blood. She drinks it like a Capri Sun, and the transformation begins…well, barring some…complications.
Bonnie: We have to make Caroline proud, or she will kill us. I don’t know how she does this all the time.”
Elena: Well, because she’s not human, obviously.
Bonnie: Obviously.
I love that Elena and Bonnie are out there doing the BFF thing and taking over the town carnival while Caroline is out. So funny that they unknowingly joke about Caroline, not knowing the real circumstances. And Bonnie brings up the thing we all want to know: ”She didn’t just resemble you like a family member would. She was you.”
Jeremy: I was killed by a vampire and brought back by a magic ring. How do you move forward from that?
Stefan: Well, today, we have a nice little distraction courtesy of the slave-driver Elena.
I’m glad things seem to be going well for Jeremy again. And Elena and Stefan trying to be normal are cute. But I have this feeling she hasn’t told Stefan about Damon kissing her. Seems to me he’d be more upset about it. It’s not like the show to drop a storyline like that, too.
Matt: No. The carnival’s gonna happen without you, Caroline. I…I know it’s hard for your neurotic, control-freak personality to process, but Bonnie and Elena have it.
Caroline: I’m not neurotic.
Matt: Yeah, you are, but it’s cute, so…
Oh, Matt and Caroline. First his sister, now his girlfrienI’m eager to see where you guys from here considering everything. Well, Matt find out about vamps in Mystic Falls sooner rather than later. Or will he have a relationship with Caroline not knowing she’s a vampire. Regardless, Caroline is still a newborn with limited control.
Damon: What is up with that family? If they’re not vampires, then what the hell are they?
Stefan: Ooh. Uh, maybe they’re, uh, ninja turtles.
Damon: You’re not funny.
Stefan: Or, no, zombies. Werewolves.
Damon: No comedic timing at all.
“Aren’t you worried that one day all the forest animals are going to band together and fight back? I mean, surely they talk.” Aaw, Stefan and Damon are too cute. I love when we get cute moments, seeing as most of the time they’re on edge with each other. OMG, Ninja Turtles mention! Damon messing around with Jeremy is not cool however.
Caroline: Well, the memories have been coming back in pieces.
Damon: You can’t remember. It’s impossible. I mean, unless you were becoming a…
Caroline: I have a message from Katherine. She said, “game on.”
Damon: Wait…
Caroline: You suck.
I’m so glad Caroline finally got her come uppance with Damon after everything he put her through. They finally resolved that storyline. And even better now that she can stand up for herself.
Tyler: Your eyes.
Damn, that werewolf jump was seven kinds of awesome. I thought it could be corny to see werewolf powers and such, but it could be pretty cool. I just hope they do a good job on the transformation and such later. And how much did I love Tyler not letting his uncle get away with what he just saw? I love that moon stone, too. This could get interesting.
Elena: It’s not an option, Damon.
Damon: No? Your silence is deafening, Stefan. Hey, wasn’t there a school carnival on the night you staked Vicki? Talk about a town where history repeats itself. You know I’m right.
Damon is forever an ass. But I will say one thing, if we need a job done with no sentiments attached, he’s the one to do it. I feel so bad for Stefan. It must eat him up inside to know it’s all indirectly his fault: “Actually, she’s doing this to me.” Still, angry Stefan this week is also sexy.
Damon: She will die. It’s only a matter of time.
Stefan: Yeah, maybe so, but it’s not gonna happen tonight.
Damon: Oh, yeah, it is.
*Damon tries to stake Caroline, Elena intervenes*
Elena: Damon, she’s my friend.
Damon: Whatever happens, it’s on you.
This whole sequence was all kinds of awesome. Caroline states the obvious, but it still hurts: ”No, then why did she look like you? And why did she do this to me?” And the whole Damon coming after Caroline and all of them going into protective mode? Wonderfully edited. And just when I thought Bonnie might be getting a new love interest.
Stefan: When you feel the blood rushing, you tell yourself that you’re gonna get through it, that you’re strong enough. No matter how good it feels to give yourself over to it, you fight it off, you bury it. Watch me. That’s the only way you’re going to survive this thing. Try.
Caroline: Why did Katherine do this to me?
Stefan: I don’t know. I wish I did. Hey, I promise you, I will not let anything happen to you. Come here.
My heart hurt watching this scene. Very powerful. I’m glad Stefan handled this time much better than with Vicki. But I feel a little weird with Stefan making a promise he might not be able to keep.
Bonnie: Why did you stop me?
Elena: Because this isn’t us. This can’t be us.
I can’t say I’m surprised and didn’t see it coming that Bonnie inacted vengeance on Damon the first chance she got. She was just waiting to be able to blame him for something. Granted this time was not his fault, but there’s been plenty he’s done. Bonnie was just waiting to break, but I’m glad Elena brought her back.
Jeremy: My father hated vampires. My uncle too. They were absolute. They knew exactly what they stood for. I figured maybe I should too. I mean, stand for something. But killing you-what’s that gonna do?
Damon: I don’t do the big brother thing well. I’m sorry I don’t have any milk and cookies to offer you.
Jeremy: Dick.
Damon: Wait. My father hated vampires too.
Aaw, Jeremy and Damon moment. Who would have thunk? Could this be the beginning of a father/son type relationship? They are both broken. And *gasp* with the father figure as a vampire? What would Uncle John say?
Matt: You almost died and it really freaked me out. And it got me thinking. You know, ‘cause I’m just- I’m not in a position where I can lose someone else right now. I realized that even though today I wanted to throttle you, I’m pretty sure that I’m in love with you.
*sniff* OMG, Caroline/Matt. It’s going to be a long road ahead, but I hope they prevail.
Stefan: I came back to this town to start a life with you. We can’t forget to live it.
I felt really weird on seeing Stefan and Elena say goodbye earlier: “And I have a doppleganger that’s hell bent on destroying all of us. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Really, akward. I’m glad Stefan didn’t let her off the hook and came to giver her that kiss and normal girl time. Well, almost normal, seeing he basically floated them to the top of the ferris wheel. I’d rather they have jumped or something. And aaw, Elena sleeping with a bear?
Elena: It’s not going to get any easier is it?
Stefan: No, it’s not.
Nikita (s1ep02): 2.0
Nikita: What division doesn’t know is that I have a partner on the inside-Alex, a new recruit with a dark past who I’ve trained in secret to resist their control.
And really that’s what this episode is about. It’s nice to get a backstory on Alex and her relationship with Nikita in the show. I find it interesting that they mention this little piece of info in the opening theme and not within the episode.
Student: This hacker stuff is really…complicated.
Birkhoff: Actually, it’s not, it’s simple. Because, you see, I do all the hacker stuff. I write the exploit. I even make it look like a video game so your tween minds can understand it!
Aaron Standford is looking much better this week, after he was pretty unrecognizable last week. His characterization was also better, and I’m thinking I could come to like his character. Training day. And lol, Thom trying to help Alex, albeit incorrectly, was amusing.
Percy: You’re not making our guest feel very welcome.
Michael: Well, we should have used the Astoria safe house. This place isn’t secure.
Percy: What are you worried about?
Michael: Communist rebels, hit men from the old country…Nikita.
I love that Percy and Divison still aren’t that worried about Nikita. Michael is the only one on edge and worried about where she’ll strike next. Maybe because he knows her too well, and knows what she’s capable of it. Then again, he had a chance to finish her before.
Percy: Don’t think of Mirko as an assignment. Think of him as a client. If I don’t address division budget cuts, I’m gonna have to make cuts of my own, Starting with the permanent elimination of the young recruits.
Michael: I’ll call an escort service.
Percy: No. As you would say, it’s not secure. Get one of the new girls. Number 13. Alex. She’ll remind Mirko of his homeland.
Uh, ew. Still, I do like the tension and drama of where this storyline is going. Interesting to see CW step it up a notch where the material in this series, I’m just not sure they can execute it well. But I appreciate the connection back to Alex’s past.
Teacher: Alex. Excellent. You’ve handled sub machine guns before?
Alex: Not really. Must be the drugs.
Flashback time! I’m not sure if I liked these flashbacks. I don’t feel as if the Alex on drugs in the flashbacks is the same as the one we know now. Maybe it wasn’t played right. And Jayden is getting on my nerves, but I did liker her response to Amanda going on a mission: ”Bet you Michael’s tapping that.”
Alex: Yeah? What should I be?
Amanda: Grateful. To be activated this early is a gift. And it’s very rude to question a gift.
-
Nikita: It’s going to help you get clean.
Alex: Why are you doing this?!
Nikita: Let’s call it a gift.
Nikita uses the same words as Amanda and I wonder if this is a part of Division training she picked up? I love that Michael was not happy with Alex going in for this op. He’s clearly playing for the wrong side in this, but I guess every bad group needs a nice guy. And the way he handed over his gun before he went in. Damn, Michael, go.
Percy: Get inquisitor down here. You’re gonna love talking to the inquisitor.
What Amanda is the Inquisitor? She’s who they bring down for interrogations? Things just got a bit creepier. She really is in expert in mind fuck, yeah?
Michael: But you can’t stop division. No one can.
Nikita: You know what, Michael? You’re right. I should have taken out Mirko when I had the shot.
Lots of UST between Nikita and Michael, but I’m stil not that interested in Nikita. I feel like her character doesn’t really connect with the audience too well. I actually like Michael’s relationship with Alex more.
The Jayden and Alex relationship is getting old, but I guess she needs a a foil at Division. I think my favorite character is Michael right now. He has a soft heart, especially for his recruits, but is still badass and will take people out execution style. And so we learn Alex’s motivation is revenge, too? Did Division have her parents killed?
