Last week on TV - Mar. 2nd-8th

This is me attempting to get back to actually writing these mini reviews... I feel like this experiment is failing me.

Teen Wolf - The Fox and the Wolf: The way the Japanese internment camp/nogitsune origin story played out was incredible (and a perfect example of how to do exposition without boring your audience). And I'm a huge fan of Derek, Mr. Argent, the sheriff, and Allison all working together. Plus, having the sheriff comfort Allison was really nice - her breakdown made her seem more human and more likable. Gotta say, I'm loving Sheriff Stilinski a lot - he's smart, caring, and passionate about doing the right thing. Overall grade: B+

Supernatural - #THINMAN: Subtle, this episode was not... That didn't mean it wasn't good, though. I will admit to finding the Ghostfacers annoying the first time they appeared, back in season one, but after a few series rewatches, I've come to really like them. Yes, they're ridiculous - but it works for me. The story this week was interesting, the parallels to the Winchesters were nice, although more than a bit heavy-handed, and I actually really liked not getting to see Sam and Dean's reactions to those parallels quite yet. I also like it when episodes explore the darker side of human nature, rather than having a supernatural baddie - that's about the creepiest thing, in my opinion. Overall grade: B+

Growing Up Fisher - Blind Man's Bluff: This show is, in my opinion, a breath of fresh air in the arena of half-hour comedies. Sure, it's cheesy, and sappy, and fairly predictable, but somehow that's really working for me. It's refreshing to watch something that, while not being laugh-out-loud funny, still makes me smile because of the way it approaches living life. It's not yet another jaded sitcom, and I like that. The family interactions are well played, the blind-guy gag isn't overused, and I feel like all the characters have potential. Overall grade: B

NCIS: Los Angeles - Fish Out of Water: The Afghanistan storyline has dragged on too long. This week's episode should have been an exciting reveal regarding the White Ghost - Kensi obviously reacted when she saw him, and the audience is supposed to be left wondering who it could be (her ex-fiancee being the obvious choice). But I don't care anymore about who the White Ghost is. I just want the team back together, and Deeks to have his partner back. The LA case was decent, and Sam and Callen's banter was back on form. Also, I totally believe that Hetty invented the internet. Makes sense to me. Overall grade: B

Chicago Fire - Keep Your Mouth Shut: I'm just gonna come out and say it: Jones is an ass. I know she's probably going to undergo major character development, but right now I hate her enough that I really don't care. On a brighter note, I'm liking Severide's storyline, and also really liked Mouch finding himself without a couch - it was entertaining. Overall grade: B-

Arrow - The Promise: I liked this episode a lot. Was it my favorite of the season? Probably not, but it was up there. The best parts, for me, were little moments that stood out among the rest: Ivo's call to Jessica, Slade picking up the mask, Sara making Oliver promise to tell her family she died on the Gambit. And of course, Oliver donning the hood for the first time. Slade is a perfectly menacing villain - I'm looking forward to seeing more of him as the bad guy. Overall grade: A

Modern Family - Spring-a-Ding-Fling: The best part of this episode was Lily lying through her teeth and blaming everything on Joe. I totally used to do that with my younger siblings. I also liked seeing Haley step up and be there for her dad. She isn't mature yet, but she's getting closer. Cam and Mitch have been irking me in recent episodes and sadly, that was true again (which sucks because I did really like their dynamic). Overall grade: B-

The Tomorrow People - Enemy of My Enemy: I wish we saw more of Astrid and John and Russell, and less of Cara and Stephen. The show would be much better if they cut out the whole love tangle (it's not even a triangle - that's how messed up it is). Julian was a good enemy, and I felt like they wasted his potential. The only thing I really liked about the episode was Jedikiah - looks like Mark Pellegrino is stealing the spotlight on yet another show. Overall grade: C+

Last week on TV - Feb. 16th-22nd

A lot of my shows weren't on again this week because of the Olympics, and given the amount of time I've spent watching various Olympic sports, I actually only managed to catch one new episode.

Teen Wolf - Letharia Vulpina: No big developments this week, but it was still a solid episode. The violence and darkness were definitely ramped up yet another notch, though, and the resulting tension played really well. I'm always happy to see Uncle Peter appear, because he is just the right mix of manipulative and creepy, and am also enjoying seeing more of Mr. Argent. The way the episode kept you guessing about the ultimate threat and end goal was handled nicely, and the ending pulled everything together well. Overall grade: B+

Last week on TV - Feb. 9th-15th

I've only managed to watch one new episode this week, thanks to the Olympics. Most of my shows are on break, and snowboarding and skiing took priority over Almost Human.

Teen Wolf - Riddled: Again, a dark episode that raised a lot of questions. Why did Lydia think Stiles was in the mental institution? Why was the kanji for "self" on the wall there? If Stiles was there, how could he also be out in the woods where he was found? I'm really liking Stiles having a big part to play, and Dylan O'Brien is doing a brilliant job. Stiles and Scott and Stiles' dad and Scott's mom's reactions to the fact that Stiles has the same disease that killed his mother were perfect (and heartbreaking, especially his father's). And the reveal that the monster that took Stiles was Stiles was handled well; again, kudos to O'Brien's acting. Overall grade: B+

Last week on TV - Feb. 2nd-8th

I've been having trouble settling down and focusing enough to write full-fledged reviews of episodes, so I'm going to try something new - a brief overview of the TV shows I've watched each week, along with episode ratings. We'll see how that goes...

How I Met Your Mother - Sunrise: An average episode - I liked the overall idea of Ted finally learning to really let go of Robin, because that needed to happen before he met the Mother. The resolution to Marshall and Lily's fight was also handled well - marriage isn't about winning or losing, it's about doing what's best for both of you, which might sometimes mean letting go of a dream or two and replacing them with something that's better in the long run. Barney passing along the playbook was kind of annoying. Yes, he's serious about settling down with Robin so his legacy passes to someone else, but I felt like we'd already covered that ground already (and better). Overall grade: B-

Teen Wolf - Silverfinger: This show surprised me earlier this season by turning away from the teenage angst and toward something much darker, and the episodes this year have continued that trend. The revelation that Stiles is possessed by the nogitsune wasn't entirely unexpected, but I felt it was handled brilliantly. This episode raised a lot of unanswered questions about Stiles' mother and Scott's father, as well as cementing Melissa McCall firmly as an awesome character. The Yakuza side of the episode was a little heavy on exposition, but that didn't ruin what was overall an episode on par with the ones leading up to it. Overall grade: B

Almost Human - Unbound: Cop procedurals always fare better with an overarching storyline to tie together otherwise unrelated episodes, and although we've had hints at this storyline before with bits of information about Insyndicate, I felt like this episode took a huge step forward with that. It's good to have a personal "big bad" rather than just a shadowy organization, and Vaughn's connection to Dorian should provide some interesting plot avenues. I'm also really curious about "the Wall" and what's on the other side - the show is expanding its universe beyond the confines of the city, and I can't wait to see what's out there. Looking back, the episode itself wasn't anything really special, but the potential that it revealed made me very excited for where the show is going to go from here. Overall grade: B

Supernatural - The Purge: I tried to like this episode, I really did. But the humor fell flat, the MotW wasn't interesting, the resolution to the case was extremely predictable... I wasn't impressed. The episode's only redeeming quality (aside from the boys wearing less layers than normal) was how the scenes at the bunker were handled, especially the ending one. I love Dean Winchester more than any other character on TV, but that conversation has needed to happen for years now. It hurt to hear Sam say those things, but the only way the brothers will ever find a happy ending is if they're able to work through this. I just hope Dean can see it that way. Overall grade: C-

NCIS: Los Angeles - War Cries: The bad guy was Colby from Numb3rs. Also, for so being tiny, Nell can kick some serious ass. And am I okay with Kensi and Deeks being apart for this long? Not really... It was a decent episode, but ever since Kensi left I feel like the dynamic of the whole team and of the show has been thrown off. Overall grade: B-

Arrow - Heir to the Demon: Most of the twists in this episode were things I expected to happen. I really liked Nyssa and Sara being lovers, and was also impressed by how Lance handled the news that his daughter is bi. I was much less of a fan of the ending scene with Oliver and Sara - even though I can see why it happened, I'd hoped they'd both matured past that. The best scene of the episode was probably Felicity confronting Moira - two strong women facing off. And I was glad Felicity didn't let Moira intimidate her, even though I hate to see her hurting. Overall grade: B+

Modern Family - iSpy: I've really been appreciating the way the show has been dealing with the kids growing up. And having Haley finally find something that she's good at made me happy (as did seeing the pictures she took - those were sweet). The other storylines didn't hold my attention very well - they weren't really funny or interesting. That's really been the story of this season for me, sadly. Overall grade: B-

The Tomorrow People - Things Fall Apart: So Stephen's mom is a Tomorrow Person too... I saw that coming about five episodes back, but it sets up some interesting possibilities. I wish they'd explored Cassie's heightened powers more, but maybe that will come later. And I'm not sure how Stephen hasn't been caught and stripped of his powers yet, since it's pretty obvious he's not on Ultra's side, given his recent interactions with Jedikiah and the Founder. Overall grade: B-

Enlisted - Rear D Day: I'm still on the fence about this show. On the one hand, it can be really funny or even occasionally play the "Aww" factor, but on the other hand, it can sometimes be borderline offensive. I think this episode bothered me because I hated the way the military spouse was presented for most of the time, even though he was sort of redeemed in the end. And the way the soldiers treated him wasn't okay, which the episode pointed out, but it tried to make it seem funny first. Up until this point, the show was growing on me after an iffy first episode, but now I'm back to not being sure what I think. Overall grade: C-

And that's it for this week - sadly, it was a rather disappointing week for my episodic shows. The Olympics started yesterday, though, so that will be on my TV a lot for a few weeks here.