Supernatural 10x14 "The Executioner's Song" [Contributor: Deena Edwards]

"The Executioner's Song"

Original Airdate: February 17, 2015

Cain is back, and he’s been busy.

After a death row inmate, Tommy, mysteriously vanishes, Sam and Dean head to the prison, their first assumption being tulpa, demon, or something else supernatural. And it is their type of hunt, just not in the way they expected. After a quick look at the security footage, Dean recognizes right away who’s behind it--- our very own Father of Murder.

He’s not the only one who has returned. We find Castiel, who has been busy torturing and killing demons for information regarding Cain, standing over what appears to be a mass graveyard of victims much like the dead inmate, moments before Cain appears. After fighting the Mark’s thirst for blood for so long, he’d gotten the taste back, turning his focus to killing people who carry his “disease.” Entire families, descendants of his---murdered, whether or not they’re killers themselves. He assures Castiel that he’s “living proof” there isn’t a cure for the Mark, disappearing with a promise that he will get to Dean in due time.

At the bunker, Team Free Will has reunited, in research mode to try to find Cain’s next possible victim. They find out the inmate, Tommy, has an estranged son who lives in Ohio. Castiel and Sam both know that bringing Dean anywhere near Cain is probably the worst possible idea, but Dean refuses to stand down and allow an innocent kid to be murdered, even if it means having to kill Cain. It’s a fight that all of them realize Dean may not come out of the same, even if he survives it. This is the Dean we all know and love, willing to throw himself constantly into harms way for the sake of others, knowing deep down that he’ll end up dead, or worse. He’s been doing good so far, fighting the Mark, but using the Blade against Cain himself is sure to throw all that hard work right out the window and end in disaster, possibly bringing him to an even darker place than before.

Back in Hell, Rowena is digging her claws deeper and deeper into her son’s affairs, subtly nudging Crowley around like a chess piece of her own design. He’s suspicious of her sudden usefulness, but he’d not as ignorant as he’s led her to believe, quickly realizing it’s all manipulation, that she’s got other motives. She convinces him to agree to help her get take out the witch from the grand coven who led the charge against her, but when his old pal Dean calls claiming the King is on Cain’s kill-list, he drops the plans with Rowena immediately to bring them the Blade, and she’s not happy about it.

Cain’s plan to kill the boy is foiled almost immediately. The real kid is long gone, and the boy that he stabs is part of an illusion--- set to keep Cain trapped long enough for Dean to prepare himself for the next step: taking the Blade and stepping into that barn for a final face off.

In the moments before Cain is ready to end Dean’s life with the Blade, he drops some major foreshadowing on us (though, at this point, enough of these hints have been dropped over the seasons that it’s pretty hard to ignore it’s likely to be true). “My story began when I killed my brother, and that’s where your story will inevitably will end.” Before Cain can land the finishing blow, Dean pulls another blade out of Cain’s jacket pocket, slicing off the hand holding the Blade. The complete and utter fear in Dean’s eyes is obvious as he stands up, now armed with the weapon, all but begging Cain to assure him he doesn’t have to kill him--- a request he denies shortly before Dean plunges the knife into his back.

With the others, Dean returns to blade to Castiel to put somewhere safe, betraying the promise between himself and Crowley that he would be the one to have it back. He and Sam exchange a hug, and a heartbreaking one at that. When they return to the bunker, Sam tells Dean what he did was incredible, but deep down, he knows something isn’t right, just as they feared.

Dean’s in trouble.

Memorable Moments/Quotes:

• “It’s called True Crime, Dean, it’s a hobby.” “No, bass fishing, needlepoint--- that’s a hobby, okay? Collecting serial killer stats, that’s an illness.”
• “Well, you were a very… chunky child, darling.” 
• “You couldn’t BE more transparent.” “Well DUH.” Okay, but, and I’m being completely serious here--- can we have a Crowley and Rowena spinoff? Can you imagine the sitcom possibilities? Crowley trying to deal with his Hell responsibilities while dealing with his insufferable, witchy mother, laugh tracks, the whole nine yards.
• I love that Dean’s ID on Crowley’s phone is “Not Moose.” 
• “You know last week when I said I would go down swinging when the time came? I meant that I was at peace with that. I just didn’t realize the time would come so soon. Like right now. I’m scared, Sam.”
• “#CainsBeard” was trending for a lot of the episode on Twitter, and I can’t say I’m surprised. Timothy Omundson’s glorious locks pretty much made the episode for me, not gonna lie. On a more serious note, though, he gave me chills on more than one account, his portrayal of Cain probably one of the scariest “bad guys” on the show, even compared to all of the demons and monsters.
• I was certain I was going to require medical attention during the face off between Cain and Dean. As a matter of fact, it’s possible that I still do.

No more episodes until March 18th, when CW shifts Supernatural over to Wednesday nights, so until then, just try to survive the Hellatus. I’ll be back then!

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New Girl 4x16 "Oregon" (Sunshine and Smiles)

"Oregon"

Original Airdate: February 17, 2015

I broke up with my college boyfriend when I moved back home from West Palm Beach to Orlando. It's a separation of about three hours, but the gap was significant enough to me that I couldn't fathom sustaining our relationship for that long. Not while he was away, living his own life and I was trying to navigate a new college and new friendships and a new-old normal. So I decided that long-distance just wasn't for me. I need to be around people in order to feel connected to them. I need them to spend time with me, even if it's just an hour for coffee or a quick bite to eat. And when you're dating someone who lives hours away or states away or an entire continent away, you don't have that luxury. You try to make what little time you have together stretch across the lengths of time that you don't. And for some people, Skype dates and once-a-month meet-ups are fine. They're not preferable, but they're fine. For the majority of others, that's not the case.

Jess Day falls into the latter category in "Oregon," an episode that uproots the gang from California and throws them into the rainy hometown of their quirky friend. Jess and Ryan are still together at the beginning of the episode, trying to figure out a way to make their relationship work in spite of the extremely long distance between them. Because that's who Jessica Day is -- she's someone who works for relationships and fights for them, too. She always has. But what happens when the other person isn't willing to fight as hard or at all? "Oregon" is a group-centric episode, as many this season have been, but it's actually another perfect example of how New Girl can structure a story about one character and manage to create growth for others, too. And actually, a lot of this episode doesn't even hinge on Jess: it hinges on Nick Miller and what he's willing to do for a woman that he (I will argue this) still loves.

So let's talk about all of the shenanigans and emotions that made up "Oregon," shall we?

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Parks and Recreation 7x08 ("Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington") & 7x09 ("Pie-Mary") [Contributor: Jaime]

"Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington" & "Pie-Mary"

Original Airdate: February 10, 2015

This week, Parks and Rec delivered yet another hour-long installment that made it even harder to accept that, in just two weeks, the show will be over.  Is it just me, or were you a lot more prepared to say goodbye before the season premiered?  Now that I’m seeing just how strong every episode is, and how well it’s servicing the characters and the love the audience has for it, it’s getting so much harder to imagine the idea of not seeing more every week.

But, sadly, the end is coming, and both of this week’s episodes seemed to be huge set-ups for the eventual endgame of the show.  It’s going to be really interesting once the season is over to go back and look at how all of these plotlines have been structured.  Right now, while we’re in the middle of the action, it’s kind of hard to tell what each plot development is doing – for example, in this week’s first episode “Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington,” is this the climax of April’s season-long arc?  Will the last four episodes be resolution?  Since the storylines of Ron and Leslie’s estrangement, and the fight with Gryzzl for the Newport land, were resolved much quicker than I had anticipated, I’ve given up for now on trying to figure out exactly what the structure of the season has been, or what it’s going to be.  Instead, I’m content to just sit back and watch the characters I love and the show that I love fire on all cylinders.

So let’s talk about “Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington”!

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Suitx 4x13 "Fork in the Road" (Are You Goin' My Way?)

"Fork in the Road"

Original Airdate: February 11, 2015

I actually don't hate road trips. My brother moved to North Carolina recently, which is about a seven hour drive from where I am in central Florida. My parents and sister drove him up and my mom and sister despised the drive there. They much prefer flying to driving. I think a road trip -- a really great one -- is all about the company you keep. I piled into a minivan with seven other people a few years ago and drove to Atlanta. Along the way, we talked and got to know one another and by the time we arrived in Georgia, we already had inside jokes about our friend Lizzy's GPS.

Road trips are only uncomfortable and awkward if you are with company that makes them that way. Speaking of, that is exactly what happens in "Fork in the Road," an episode that features a forced road trip between the already tense Mike and Louis. And did I mention that Harvey Specter is the one who forced them both into the road trip in the first place? His reasoning for doing so was noble: the only way for Pearson Specter Litt to get back to normal is for Mike and Louis to settle their differences once and for all. Harvey ropes them both into a road trip under the guise (which is actually true) of driving to visit a client. This episode is also Suits' annual flashback episode, so while we witness the animosity between Louis and Mike in the present, we also have the opportunity to watch the dissolution of Harvey and Louis's relationship in the flashback.

Let's talk more about the dynamic between these three men, shall we?

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Arrow 3x13 "Canaries" (The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most)

"Canaries"

Original Airdate: February 11, 2015

And the grave that you refuse to leave

The refuge that you've built to flee,

The places that you've come to fear the most,

Is the place that you have come to fear the most.

You don't need to be told of your flaws.

Sometimes, when you get into arguments with your parents or your other family members or your friends or your significant others, they'll dig into their arsenal of weapons and they'll brandish a mirror -- they'll tell you all of the things that make you flawed, in the heat of that argument. But most of the time (unless you're so far in denial that you might as well be in Egypt), we don't need to be told of our flaws. We KNOW every single one of our flaws. We know the deep, dark parts of us that we hate. And that's why it hurts so much when others point those parts of us out: because it's one thing to know your weaknesses; it's another for the people you love to know them as well. The weird thing about existence -- about battling those insecurities -- is that we're often our own worst enemy. We're often the thing that we fear the most. We're afraid to be vulnerable with other people. We're afraid to be real. So we construct these prisons that we hold ourselves in and when other people get too close, we shut down or shut them out. It's a method of protection, of self-preservation. Because -- and we're cycling back to the beginning of this post -- we don't want other people to know what we know about ourselves.

Identity is such a strong theme in this season of Arrow that it may as well be the title of every episode ("Next week, on Arrow: 3x14... 'Identity'!"). Up until recently, however, this particular theme has been mostly explored through examining the characters of Arrow and Oliver Queen -- of contrasting and comparing them and trying to determine whether or not the two entities can ever be separated. But in "Canaries," we get to see the theme of identity from the perspective of Laurel Lance, as she suffers from a lethal dose of Vertigo's drug (which, as you'll remember from "The Calm," causes the user to see their worst fear) and hallucinates a duel with Sara. There's one other giant, overarching theme of this season that weaves its way through both Laurel and Oliver/Malcolm's story this episode and it's the theme of lying. Our beloved Arrow characters may be heroes, but they're also ALL liars. So the question of the episode is this: is it okay to lie to the people you care about to protect them? And where is the breaking point? Laurel's been lying to Quentin; Oliver's been lying to Thea. Even though both are under the guise of protecting the people they care about... is it RIGHT to do that? Is it right to not let another person have the chance to grieve? Is it right to force a decision FOR someone rather than with them?

And what kind of person do you turn into once you let one lie take root in your life?

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Supernatural 10x13 "Halt & Catch Fire" [Contributor: Deena Edwards]

"Halt & Catch Fire"

Original Airdate: February 10, 2015

We live in a world dependent on technology, obsessed with things like tweets, snaps, Insta-whatevers, and so on. It’s not always a bad thing, of course, unless you’ve somehow managed to land yourself in harms way of a very angry vengeful spirit. In which case, you should probably avoid the electronic devices all together.

Last night’s episode was another throwback, a good old fashioned hunt with a little bit of a twist. Sam and Dean head to a college in Iowa to talk to a girl who claims a possessed truck drove her friend off the end of an unfinished bridge to his death. All signs point to ghost--- cold spots, the nav app, Trini, seemingly having a mind of its own, and of course, the fact that the truck the victim was driving at the time belonged to his dead brother, whom he didn’t get along with at all. Sure enough, when they go to the salvage yard where the truck is--- or what’s left of it, there are traces of ectoplasm and the EMF meter is going crazy. They salt and burn it, but the problem doesn’t stop there.

Not long after, there’s another death, this time a girl named Julie, strangled to death in her sorority house by her own laptop charger after a series of strange messages involving the number “810.” At the crime scene, Sam steals her laptop, hoping to find a clue in it as to how and why a spirit is hopping from one machine to the next.   They find out the number is an address where, nine months prior, Andrew Silver was killed in a car accident. With his body having been cremated, and the victims seemingly having no ties to each other, the brothers wonder exactly how the spirit is sticking around to haunt these victims.

After a third student is killed, his brains turned to jelly by his own speaker system, they finally find out the truth. Delilah, a girl from the college, who also had been caught on several occasions leaving flowers at the spot of the accident, comes clean about that night all those months ago. She and her friends, the previous three victims, were driving (and tweeting, and selfie-ing… come on, guys, really?) when the car veered over into the other lane, causing the other car to swerve and hit a power line, one of the cables snapping loose and electrocuting the car, engulfing it in flames. They drove off, never calling 911.

While Sam heads off to the scene of the accident, coming to the conclusion that the spirit is traveling through the wifi signal in town, Dean is keeping Delilah company. He relates to her situation, telling her,   “I have made more mistakes than I can count. Ones that haunt me day and night.” Much like she’s been plagued by nightmares and guilt from that night, the deaths that have occurred under Dean’s watch have stuck with him, as well.

Before they can get to the routers to turn them off, the power flickers, Andrew’s face appearing in all of the computer, tablet, and phone screens in the room. The two of them take off to the basement, hoping the lack of signal and salt lines at the doors and windows will be enough to ward Andrew off, but he reappears anyway. Dean attempts to reason with him, using his own experiences with the Mark to try to talk him down.  “You can keep killing, and become something that you won’t recognize. Or you can move on, ‘cause that is the only thing that is gonna give you peace.” As good of a speech as it is, ghosts aren’t so easily swayed from their vengeful ways, and it takes a video call from the deceased man’s wife, who tells him it’s time for him to let go, to make him move on.

In the end, Dean decides to follow Andrew’s lead. Peace over pain, and his peace is in working cases, in saving people, rather than killing themselves over a cure for the Mark that may or may not even exist. The answer in controlling the darkness inside of him lies with him and him alone. Of course, things are never that simple, and I’m sure that when an actual lead on a cure comes along, Dean’s mind may change.

Memorable Moments/Quotes:

• “Go screw yourself.” “You go screw yourself.” I’m sure this will be the future of talking GPS apps, just you wait.
• “A croissookie.” “A croissookie?”
• Dean spending the entire episode distracted by college girls and copious amounts of food just brings me way back to season one Dean, and I love it.
• “Agents Grohl and Cobain.” The fake names just keep getting better.
• “So Trini and everything else in the truck went all Christine...” “Who’s Christine?” I appreciate your pop culture references, Dean.
• “If you died and I drove your car, you’d kill me?” “If you stunk her up with tacquitos, probably.” 
• “I have a photographic memory. Hashtag blessed!” DO THE YOUTHS REALLY TALK LIKE THIS NOW?! HASHTAG PLEASE STOP.
• “I hit up Julie’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, InstaChat, Snapchat, AIM. Nothing but posts on rush and Fifty Shades of Grey. The movie, not the book.”  “Yeah, I didn’t get half of that.”
• “Nothing ever really gets deleted from the internet… you knew that, right?”  The look of concern that passed over Dean’s face just then. Makes you wonder what kind of stuff he has posted that’s just floating around out there.
• “So, you’re like… Ghostbusters?” Yet another Ghostbusters reference of the night. I’m starting to think that maybe Supernatural and Parks and Rec are telepathically connected or something somehow this season.
• “How do you deal?”  “Whiskey. Denial. I do my best to make things right, whatever that may be.”
• “Oh yeah, sure, Sammy. We’ll just kill the internet. Wait, can we?”
• The brother moment at the end physically hurt my soul.

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New Girl 4x15 "The Crawl" (The Crawl Is For All)

"The Crawl"

Original Airdate: February 10, 2015

Timing is everything.

This is true of our relationships, our families, our decisions... heck, even our cooking and baking. The problem is that so often in life, our timeline doesn't seem to coincide with our ideals or our desires. In The Wedding Planner, Jennifer Lopez's character named Mary asks another character this question: "Have you ever loved someone but the timing was all off?" I feel like that statement could be used to summarize the majority of the storylines that intersect in "The Crawl," New Girl's most recent (and stellar) episode. The premise of the episode is pretty simple -- the group agrees to accompany recently-dumped Nick on a bar crawl. Everyone knows the reason he's doing this (no one vocalizes it as much as Winston does), of course: he's trying to distract himself from his recent break-up with Kai. But reluctantly, everyone agrees to participate in the crawl. So Nick, Jess, Ryan, (eventually) Schmidt, Cece, Coach, and Winston go bar crawling the night away and encounter issues as they do.

"The Crawl" is structured as almost an entirely group-centric story broken out into smaller pieces. I hesitate to label them as A/B/C/D stories because the episode itself was really self-contained. So instead of structuring the review as I usually do, I'll break out each of the stories these characters had and discuss how the theme of timing played into them in terms or relationships.

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