Last week on TV - Oct. 5th-11th

More premieres this week, including the show I've been looking forward to more than anything - Arrow. Didn't get to watch all the new episodes for my shows, since I was traveling for the later part of the week, but I saw the ones that really mattered.

Once Upon a Time - White Out: I spent half this episode cringing at Charming's hair in the flashbacks... In the present, I still like Elsa, but now that they've established her character, she needs to develop. Also, Hook and Emma are very cute together, although Hook and Charming make me smile even more (in a totally bromance sort of way). That was about all I liked from the episode. Did I mention that the flashbacks made me cringe? And not just at the hair, but at how awful they were as a whole. I get that the show reinvents characters, but bad-guy Bo Peep just didn't cut it for me, and Charming's whole progression towards heroism fell really, really flat (unlike his hair, which was really, really bushy...). Overall grade: C

Supernatural - Black: I'm going into this season with extremely low expectations, which lets me enjoy mediocre episodes much more. And that's what this was. Demon!Dean's actions actually made sense to me - Dean's been driven all his life by a desire to do the right thing; take that away and he's not really got a motivation to do anything. Cas, on the other hand, felt really out of character. After everything he's been responsible for, he would never stand by and let angels kill each other. And I felt like the writers were trying too hard with Sam. Yes, we already know he'll do anything to save Dean. You don't have to explicitly tell us that, multiple times. Can we just be done with the angels and demons and whoever the new guy is, and instead have Sam, Dean, and Cas all together, hunting bad guys and having sleepovers in the bunker? 'Cause I'd like that a lot more than what we've got right now. Overall grade: C+

The Flash - Pilot: This is how you do a pilot episode - fun, even funny at times, but with heart. I like most of the characters, especially Barry and Detective West, I really want to know what's up with Wells, and I'm invested in the show after just one episode. (Also, I really want crossovers with Arrow to happen every few episodes. Which I realize would be overkill, but I'm loving the fact that the shows share a universe, and apparently aren't going to forget about that fact.) I really like the idea of Barry using his new-found powers to protect his city, as opposed to the common superhero concept of saving the city. I think that will allow this show to set a different tone than every other superhero show out there (or at least that's my hope). Overall grade: A-

Arrow - The Calm: There was a lot to love about this episode - all the Team Arrow interactions were perfect, and the arrival of Diggle's baby girl was the best. Plus, we finally got the promised Olicity date (which was everything I hoped it would be), and their first kiss (which was very bittersweet and I don't know how I feel about it). The new Count Vertigo has potential to be a good villain, although I will admit I was hoping he would be a bit more like the New 52 version of the Count (whom I really liked). And I even found myself liking Ray Palmer (and Felicity dishing out hacker vengeance on him was amazing). And then there was the ending, which I did not love, at all. I know Sara's death will impact the most people, and will start Laurel on the path to becoming the Black Canary. I don't care. Sara was a strong female character (something this show lacks), and killing her off for the sake of furthering Laurel's development pissed me off big time. I knew it was coming - I actually thought she'd die in last season's finale, so she made it one episode longer than I expected - but that didn't make me hate it any less. Overall grade: B+

Last week on TV - Sep. 28th-Oct. 4th

Three more of the shows I'm interested in premiered this week, to mixed reviews. (Gilmore Girls also arrived on Netflix streaming, so you should all be proud of me for watching anything else besides that this week...)

Once Upon a Time - A Tale of Two Sisters: I should preface this review by stating that I didn't really like the movie Frozen very much, so I was less than excited to see that it was coming to OUaT. That being said, there were a few things I liked about this episode. I actually liked Elsa (I did in the movie too), and am excited that it appears that she'll be a major focus, rather than just a side plot (and it's great to see Georgina Haig on my screen again - makes my Fringie heart happy). The way the scene between Emma and Regina was framed to mirror a scene from Frozen was cool, and I like the potential comparisons between their story and Anna and Elsa's. And thank heaven that Regina didn't go full-on evil. (I'm okay with conflicted, but if they turn her evil again, I will quit watching.) Overall grade: C+

Gotham - Selina Kyle: As the title makes very evident, this episode was centered around Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Cat. I could like her, I think, although we still know next to nothing about her, aside from the fact that she's got quite the attitude. I want to see her interact with Bruce - who, by the way, is rather intense. I can totally see him becoming Batman one day. Gordon continues to be the morally upright good guy, and gets encouragement from his girl, whom I hated less this time around. However, he does seem willing to toe the line between right and wrong when lives are at stake... I really enjoy Bullock's character - he manages pull off being morally ambiguous while still somehow being likable - we'll see how long that lasts. As far as actual villains go, Penguin and Falcone are awesome, but I'm still on the fence about Fish Mooney. There wasn't really a lot of character development in this episode, and the story itself wasn't that strong (although I'm expecting the Dollmaker to come into play again at a later point). Still, it was an enjoyable watch, probably because it maintained the film noir feel. I'm gonna need something more than that soon, though. Overall grade: B

NCIS: Los Angeles - Deep Trouble, Pt. II: This felt a bit more like the NCIS:LA I used to love, but it still struggled with character interactions. (That used to be the strongest part of the show - I don't know what went wrong.) The episode was well plotted, and the scenes with Sam and Callen in the doomed sub were well done, as were the scenes with Hetty and Granger. Where this episode really struggled was with Kensi and Deeks and the random DEA agent (Talia?). Those scenes just rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. I feel like the writers haven't written Kensi and Deeks well since they sent her off the Afghanistan, and this episode was no different. The action plotline was on point this episode, though, so it was decently entertaining. Overall grade: B-

Chicago Fire - Wow Me: A solid episode, nothing stunning, but that's okay. Severide's struggle to deal with Shay's death was well handled, and not over the top, which made his breakdown at the end of the episode that much more meaningful. I liked seeing Cruz get a chance to be the smart one, and Boden's nervousness about the baby was great. And even though I'm not always a huge fan of Dawson and Casey together (mostly when their relationship gets played up for the sake of added drama), I really liked them in this episode. I also really enjoyed getting to know a little bit of Newhouse's backstory - he seems like a really good dad. Overall grade: B

Modern Family - Do Not Push: Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed all the plotlines in this episode. Alex meeting a cute guy on her college tour was great, and the moment between Phil, Haley, and Luke was sweet. Jay seemed a bit out of character, but I liked how he and Gloria ended up keeping the expensive gifts. And I know the pain of trying to get a nice smile out of a little kid (and out of bigger kids, too), so I found Mitch and Cam's struggle very entertaining. Overall grade: B

The Vampire Diaries - I'll Remember: I binged watched the first five seasons over the summer because I was bored, and wound up enjoying the show more than I thought I would. This was a decent season premiere, and I liked the way they approached both Elena and Caroline's responses to what happened at the end of last season. I could care less about Tyler, and wanted to see more of Alaric struggling with being a vampire now. And I'm gonna go nuts until Damon is back where he belongs. As a whole, the episode set up a lot of plotlines, so it felt a little disjointed at times, but I want to know what happens, so I guess it did its job. Overall grade: B-

Hawaii Five-0 - Ka Makuakane: There was a nice misdirect at the beginning of the episode, and I'm also inclined to think of William Mapother as a bad guy after Lost, so it took me a while to figure this case out, which was a nice surprise. As far as the case-of-the-week went, it was a good episode, although we didn't get much of a chance to spend time with some of the main characters. This show has suffered from adding too many characters, and some weeks I really miss when the focus was just the main four. The subplot with the shady character from Danny's brother's past was subpar, although I feel like it could develop into an interesting storyline, if done right. But right now I'm actually more interested in whatever it is that Jerry has uncovered... Overall grade: B-

Last week on TV - May 4th-10th

Finally got caught up on H50 just in time for the season finale...

Once Upon a Time - Kansas: Once again, rushed and predictable - my two most common complaints about this half of season three. Everything fell into place too easily, and things that should have meant a lot, like Regina finding good in herself, or Emma choosing to save Hook, wound up having little to no impact. I was also annoyed by Rumple's character regression. Nothing annoys me more on a show than when character development is discarded for the sake of a plot device. It wasn't terrible - in fact, I don't know that it could have been much better, given the lack of good development up to this point and the pressure to fit a whole lot of plot into just a few episodes - but it struggled in some key areas. Overall grade: B-

Supernatural - King of the Damned: Manipulative Winchesters are awesome, Crowley having feelings and hating it is always fun, Dean was very bad-ass, and the angel command post was pretty cool. I wish they'd given us more this season on the angel war and how it's affecting the world, because that could have been really great. Having Crowley remember the Winchesters' code word was a nice touch. My only thought is that Abaddon went down way too easily, or at least it seemed like it to me. If she's not really dead, that'd be okay, but if that really was the fight to end it all, it was kinda lame. Overall grade: B+

Arrow - Streets of Fire: I've seen it twice and I still can't seem to manage to be coherent... It was amazing. From Felicity hitting Isabel with the van, to all the Team Arrow action, to the Lance family awesomeness, to Slade at his window watching the city burn, it was all perfect. And don't even get me started on the Olicity scene in the clock tower. Felicity balances Oliver out so perfectly, and they are perfect together. I was intending to save the highest marks for the finale, but this episode deserves all the points. Overall grade: A+

Hawaii Five-0 - O Ka Pilo 'Ohana Ka 'Oi: After last week's powerful ending, this episode fell a little flat, though it was still good. It felt more like a mid-season setup episode than a finale - the story was pretty much self-contained, with the only question being exactly what Wo Fat is up to. I think Grover will bring an interesting dynamic to the Five-0 team, if the show can find a good balance between character screen time. It was nice to have a finale that wasn't a cliffhanger, but there are a whole lot of unresolved questions from the season that have yet to be addressed, and I was surprised that none of them were touched on. Overall grade: B+

Last week on TV - Apr. 27th-May 3rd

Yes, I'm down to only three shows that I'm actually caught up on. I'm still watching most of my other shows - I'm just behind, so no episode reviews for those.

Once Upon a Time - A Curious Thing: The good: Outlaw Queen is adorable and I ship them hard. Plus the number of snarky one-liners in this episode was amazing. And let's not forget the extremely shallow but also extremely important fact of the hotness of Charming, Hook, and Robin. I also liked that the good guys were actually the ones who cast the curse; it was a nice twist. The bad: the good guys casting the curse had exactly zero lasting effects on them. I know no one ever really dies on this show (except for Neal, and don't get me started on how that was a terrible way to get him out of the way for Hook), but for something to have a proper impact on viewers, it has to last for longer than a minute or two. Also, those monkeys are cursed people - you might want to think before going around shooting them. And then we come to my constant complaint about this half of the season - it's way too rushed. I really like the ideas, but the material covered in this episode alone would have been enough for at least two, and maybe three, more in-depth episodes. It wasn't terrible. It made me smile. But it wasn't as good as it easily could have been. Overall grade: B-

Supernatural - Bloodlines: Mediocre episode, which had a very different feel from a normal episode of Supernatural. That was okay, though, because it was intended as a backdoor pilot. However, it would have worked better somewhere around episode 14-16 of the season. At this point, three episodes out from the finale, with so many unresolved plot lines, I didn't want to be wasting time on an only-halfway-decent MOTW episode. Nothing I'd heard or seen up to this point had made me excited for the spin-off, and this didn't really do much for me either. The bad guy being human was obvious from the beginning - I'd rather have seen the werewolf girl die, and him survive as a super villain or something, though. The shifter guy is hot, the hunter kid is not interesting at all, and although I'll still probably watch at least the pilot for the spin-off, I don't see myself really getting into it. Overall grade: C+

Arrow - City of Blood: Loved it. Still rather incoherent with happiness. Loved how all the pieces played out, loved watching Oliver say his goodbyes, even loved that Laurel was able to give him a new purpose. There was no way he was going to be talked out of giving himself up. It wasn't that Felicity failed and Laurel succeeded. Laurel just had information Felicity didn't have, information she'd obtained at great personal cost. It's nice to see her storyline getting the payoff it deserves (yes, I like Laurel). I want to see Felicity get similar treatment next season. But for now, I will be satisfied with that perfect scene where they both knew it was very likely the last time they'd ever see each other, and their guards were both down all the way. I really thought he might kiss her then, but I think he didn't because he didn't want to make his impending death any harder for her to bear. Just replaying that scene in my head makes me scream internally. Only two more episodes left, and I am so psyched. Overall grade: A

Last week on TV - Apr. 20th-26th

I didn't get lazy this time around - these were actually the only three new episodes I watched this week. (What can I say? I got the complete Indiana Jones collection on sale and I've been making sure those discs all work...)

Once Upon a Time - Bleeding Through: This show loves to play six degrees of separation. Except here, it's more like one or maybe two degrees. It makes me want to tear my hair out. Best part of the episode: Killian around Emma - very well acted on Colin O'Donoghue's part. I actually do find myself rooting for Robin and Regina as well, even though that hasn't been given the development it should have been. Plus, Roland is adorable. That's about all the good stuff I have to say. Like every other episode in this second half of the season, everything felt rushed. I feel like they're trying to do too much, too fast, and none of it has the impact that it should. This show has actually struggled a lot with pacing, being in turns too slow and too quick with plot lines. I really could care less about most of the characters at this point - I'm just watching because I'm hoping it gets better again. Overall grade: C+

Supernatural - Alex Annie Alexis Ann: Bob Berens is awesome. This was a great MOTW episode that didn't forget about events in the larger world and season arc. Another plus was the multitude of well-fleshed-out characters. The brothers felt right, though the Mark is changing Dean in ways that are more than a little frightening. Jody Mills is always a great character, and I loved the way she was written this week. Alex/Annie was a little cliche, but then again, vampire stories are also cliche, and her character was likable and fleshed out well for only having one episode. I hope she sticks around with Jody and we see more of her later. And the momma vamp was also awesome - just the right mix of creepy hick and grieving mother. Basically, the ep left me feeling good about my show, at least until worries about Dean and the Mark start to creep in... Overall grade: A-

Arrow - Seeing Red: All of Sara and Oliver's disagreements finally came to a head, and she realized they really didn't work as a couple. (I think she may have headed off to find Nyssa...) Thea wasn't able to get through to Roy, in a twist on an overused trope. Felicity reminded Oliver of how far he's come (and hopefully he remembers who helped him get there). Diggle was just plain awesome, although he's not really that great a bodyguard when the attacker is hyped up on Mirakuru (not his fault, though - no one would be). And just so no one forgets, the people we were shown during Slade's first big declaration of his plans were Quentin Lance, who was thrown in jail and beaten up for being loyal to the Arrow, Roy, who has now gone nuts and become a killer, thanks to Slade, and Felicity. Makes you wonder what's coming for her. And Oliver is not going to be in a good place to fight back, not after watching Slade kill his mother in front of him. Moira's death wasn't a surprise, especially after she revealed that she'd known Oliver's secret for the past year. I was sad to see her go, because, like pretty much every other female character on this show, her potential was somewhat wasted, and now can never be realized. But I'm hoping for some good fallout. Overall grade: A-

Last week on TV - Apr. 13th-19th

Yes, I realize I went a whole month without writing up anything. And yes, I did watch more than two shows this week. I was actually about ready to call this whole experiment a complete failure, and give up, but then both of these episodes frustrated me so much that I had to write something.

Once Upon a Time - The Jolly Roger: I like Hook. I like the complexity of his character, and the way it's been developed up to this point. And it doesn't hurt that he really is a dashing rapscallion. But this episode wound up falling flat for me. Everything that I think was supposed to be a surprising plot twist was not. And then we ended with the overused cliche of the lovers who can't touch/kiss for some reason or another. Not saying that can't be done really, really well (see Pushing Daisies), but it can also be a total failure (think Dark Angel). And sadly, this is already feeling like the latter. I wanted to like this episode; it was centered on one of the best characters, and there were moments when I really felt like it had potential (watching Hook react to losing Emma could have made for a really good story), but it never got off the ground. Overall grade: B-

Supernatural - Meta Fiction: Interesting ideas, poor execution. I've found that with Robbie Thompson's scripts, I either really like them, or they feel very disjointed and poorly paced - no middle ground. And this episode was the latter. Sam needed more time to react to seeing Gadreel, and to seeing what Dean did to Gadreel. Gabriel felt off, but since he was basically just the result of Metatron writing fanfiction, I'd be willing to let that one slide. If all he's brought back for is a poorly written cameo (whether that be Robbie's or Metatron's fault), I'm going to be ticked, though. I'd really like to see that last eyebrow quirk pay off and him play a role in either the end of this season or the beginning of the next, but I feel like that's probably hoping for too much. And apparently the fandom was hoping for too much as we waited for Cas to find out about Dean and the Mark. That was probably the worst paced part of the episode. Seriously, guys? Ten seconds to show Cas' reaction?!? That should have been a scene right there! I swear, the only reason I didn't throw something through the TV screen was because at least Jensen and Misha put enough emotion into those ten seconds that I can pretend it happened differently and rewrite the scene in my head, given what they portrayed. This episode made me sad, because there were so many things that could have been brilliant and were just wasted. And now those opportunities are gone. Overall grade: C