Bates Motel 5x07 Review: "Inseparable" (When Your BFF is Your Dead Mom) [Contributor: Erin Allen]

"Inseparable"

Original Airdate: March 27, 2017

Norman and Mother are both fighting for the upper hand in their twisted relationship, and Dylan shows up to witness it.

HOUSEKEEPING

Norman has some cleaning up to do after brutally stabbing Sam Loomis in the shower. Luckily, he has some help. Not in an "extra set of hands" sense of the word, but an inner monologue in the form of his impatient, but loyal Mother “self.” We are fortunate to see this played out physically with Vera Farmiga as Mother assisting Freddie Highmore’s Norman in the bloody aftermath. “You can think about the meaning of life later, but right now we’ve got shit to do.”

Norman is dealing with the realization of killing someone for the first time. He has murdered many times before, but he always blacked out and let Mother deal with it all — the emotions, the stress, and the dumping of bodies. Mother is well-versed in all of this. She tries to help him process it, but she mostly gets annoyed with his sensitivity. “We don’t have time for this emotional bullshit.” Norman is struggling between being in a state of post-traumatic stress and having some control over his actions. In a fantastic scene between the two of them (although, when are their scenes not fantastic?), Mother punches Norman as he becomes paranoid and unhinged. And Norman punches her back! I did not see either of those blows coming. Farmiga’s reaction was great. “I’m going to pretend that didn’t just happen right now.”

Mother is also trying to make sure he knows she is still needed. She talked him into killing on his own and is helping him to confront this side of himself, but she needs him to know that she is a vital part of his life. His lucidity and remorse are a threat to her existence. If he gets himself killed, she is dead, too. If he gets put into an institution and is forced to take meds, she is gone.

BROTHERLY LOVE

Another threat to Mother is Dylan. She knows that Dylan will want to get Norman help, and she can’t have that. Dylan does want to help Norman — he always did — and now seeing Norman’s living conditions and his erratic behavior, he feels it is imperative. He tries to get his old medications filled, and learns that Dr. Edwards has been missing for over a year! What?! That is an interesting and mysterious piece of information that I would like to revisit before the end of the series. Dylan is able to get a temporary prescription for Norman, and he insists that he take it. Norman is wary of Dylan’s help, but you can see compassion and maybe even a spark of hope that he actually can help. He apologizes for keeping Norma’s death from him, and even confides in him in a sad, cryptic way. “I miss our mother. So very much, I can’t even tell you. It’s not the same and it never will be.” This was risky considering Mother was watching.

Norman wants to be trusted to handle Dylan on his own. He tries to convince Mother that he won’t tell him anything, and that he will “never do anything to jeopardize” what they have. But, Dylan is persistent. So persistent that he aggravates Norman’s condition. “Stop trying to confuse me and stop meddling with the truth!” He starts crying and breathing heavily all while trying to convince Dylan that it’s okay for him to leave. It’s another heartbreakingly beautiful performance by Highmore. Max Thieriot is also wonderful in this scene, taking Norman’s plea for him to go as a cry for help.

But, Mother is like “nah bro” and takes over Norman’s body. Dylan watches the transformation in horror. Mother tells him that while she loves him, and is proud of him, she can only “ever be a real mother to one person.” I wish they would’ve cut Farmiga as Mother into this part before the scuffle with the knife. It would’ve been cool to see her say some of that stuff. Not to say Highmore’s delivery was lacking in any way, but I think it could’ve played nicely.

Mother comes very close to killing Dylan, but Norman is able to stop her/himself. They fight for the knife in a well-choreographed struggle, even showing Norman fighting with himself. Norman is able to vanquish her long enough to call 911 and confess to murdering Sam Loomis. His eyes were as wide as mine. He couldn’t believe he was doing that. Dylan couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it. Twists and turns are still very much present even after the shocking one we saw in the last episode, “Marion.”

Motel Amenities:

• Freddie Highmore wrote the teleplay for this episode and also has story credit. 
• The spiral move on Sam’s eye was so awesome!
• “If I had a quarter I’d make a wish.”
• The linen day line is from Psycho. Great piece of dialogue to include.
• Maggie is an overly friendly hostess to the point where it’s kind of creepy. I’m sure she’s just looking out for Romero keeping his moral compass pointed in the right direction like she says, but it’s a bit much. 
• It’s quite a sight seeing Norman push his dead, frozen mother in a wheelchair through the snow in the woods.
• Dylan breaking down in Norma’s room was so sad. The reality of her death really hit him there.
• “Every day feels like a small century.”
• Highmore and Thieriot really portrayed their complicated relationship well, and showed how much love is between them. It was beautiful and tragic. 
• Composer Chris Bacon is hitting all the right and painful notes. The score during the scene where Norman takes Norma’s body into the woods, and when Mother speaks with Dylan really played at my heartstrings. 

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Prison Break 5x01 Recap: “Ogygia” (Freedom Has a Price) [Guest Poster: Rebecca]

“Ogygia”

Original Airdate: April 4, 2017

“I died seven years ago.”

After a quick montage of scenes from the previous four seasons of Prison Break, we hear Michael Scofield’s hauntingly familiar voice echo through our television speakers. “Freedom has a price,” he says. “I died seven years ago. I left behind a brother, a wife, a son.”

And for all we knew, Michael Scofield did die seven years ago, in the final moments of season four. In an attempt to break his beloved wife Sara out of prison for killing his mother (I know, but I promise it makes total sense if you’ve watched the show), he sacrifices himself to free her, getting electrocuted while causing a power surge to open a locked door. We learn later that his brain tumor had returned, this time terminal, and he wouldn’t have had much time anyway. But that doesn’t make his death any less heartbreaking or shocking.

So when Fox announced they were creating a fifth season of Prison Break, and that Wentworth Miller would return to play his iconic role of Michael, my head was left spinning. So he didn’t die? How? Why hasn’t he reached out to his brother or Sara for seven years? Even if his electrocution was not fatal, how did he survive the brain tumor? While the first episode leaves us in the dark regarding how Michael actually survived, I suppose all of these questions will be answered in time.

“FATE HAS GOT US JOINED AT THE HIP SOMEHOW.”

Prison Break’s most notorious villain, Theodore Bagwell (otherwise known as T-Bag) is back and as slimy as ever. Robert Knepper’s voice alone is enough to make my skin crawl, which shows just how talented of an actor he is. We watch as a guard releases T-Bag from Fox River Penitentiary, where he was sent in the season four finale. As he is collecting his things, including a laptop and a pack of gum, one of the guards gives him a final piece of correspondence — a large manila envelope with a bunch of international postmarks.

Cut to Lincoln Burrows, the show’s other protagonist. He is Michael’s half-brother, and the catalyst for why there was a prison break in the first place. Currently, Lincoln is running from some guys to whom he owes money. When he finally makes it back to his house, he is greeted by T-Bag, who is waiting patiently on the porch. T-Bag shows Lincoln the envelope’s contents, and Lincoln is shocked to find a grainy photo of his thought-to-be-dead half-brother, captioned with one of Michael’s famous word puzzles.

Hoping Sara can decipher the puzzle, as she always could in the past, Lincoln hops a flight to New York. Unfortunately, Sara is unsure what Michael’s note means, and is skeptical that he’s still alive (considering the information came from T-bag, a known liar and master manipulator who has been known to betray the gang).

Lincoln visits Michael’s grave. He laments that he’s fallen back into his old ways, suggesting it was because Michael wasn’t there to guide him. “I got good in me,” he says. “It’d just be nice if you were here with me to help me find it.” He re-examines Michael’s note, and discovers that some letters are written in pencil. Erasing the pencil marks away reveals the letters “OGYGIA,” which Lincoln learns is a prison in Yemen.

Making the (slightly disturbing) decision to dig up Michael’s grave, Lincoln confirms his suspicions when he finds no body inside the coffin, just some clothes. He takes the suit jacket. As he’s driving home, he gets stuck at a red light. The man in the car next to him looks strangely suspicious, and Lincoln realizes he is being followed. As soon as the light turns green, we see that the person in the car next to him has somehow hacked Lincoln’s car and has full control of the gas and brake pedals. Lincoln accelerates, and the mysterious attacker leads Lincoln’s car straight for a lake, but Lincoln is thrown from the car and manages to escape with the suit jacket.

He quickly calls Sara to inform her of the attack, and pretty soon a woman with a gun appears at Sara’s house. She manages to hide herself and her son (that she had with Michael), Mike, and call the police. The woman is able to shoot Sara’s husband, Jacob, in the leg before she hears the police sirens and escapes.

“SOMEONE SEEMS TO HAVE PLANS FOR BOTH OF US.”

While all of this craziness is happening, T-Bag receives a notification his computer alerting him that he has an appointment scheduled with a prosthetic research doctor. He visits Dr. Whitcombe, who wants to perform a procedure on T-Bag to give him a fully functional prosthetic hand that can be manipulated by his brain (remember, he got his hand axed off in season one and has been using a wooden prosthesis since).

Dr. Whitcombe says he received a large grant from an anonymous donor named “Outis” for his research, under the condition that “Theodore Bagwell” would be the first recipient of this robotic hand. T-Bag has suspicions about undergoing the surgery, distrusting the doctor and not wanting to be put under anesthesia, but eventually goes through with the procedure.

Lincoln decides to go to Yemen, and tracks down Benjamin Miles Franklin, or C-Note, another member of the Fox River Eight (the eight men who originally escaped from Fox River in season one). C-Note has converted to Islam, and Lincoln believes he will be a beneficial travel partner, considering he knows Arabic and may be able to navigate through the war-ridden area of Yemen.

C-Note is familiar with Ogygia and explains it’s a jail for political prisoners. Unable to believe Michael would do something to warrant ending up in that kind of place, they call Ogygia and learn there is no prisoner there named “Michael Scofield.” Lincoln and C-Note Google Michael’s name and find that it has been attached to a completely new face. Someone has completely erased his existence — but who? C-Note encourages Lincoln to look at the situation from all angles: Michael has the brainpower and capability of pulling off a stunt as crazy and complex as faking his own death.

After arriving in Yemen, C-Note and Lincoln notice they’re the only people coming into the country; everyone else wants out. A man who claims he will take them to Sheba, C-Note’s contact, meets them at the airport. Lincoln and C-Note follow the man to a car. As they’re getting into the car, we see a different man arrive at the airport holding a sign with their names on it. Eventually, C-Note realizes they’ve been set up, and he and Lincoln fight their assailants until Sheba shows up and rescues them.

Sheba has a friend with connections to Ogygia. He can arrange a visit — but Lincoln must surrender his passport to the prison, who can then sell it on the black market for a large amount of money. Ignoring C-Note’s pleas to not give up his passport, Lincoln agrees and hands it over, effectively trapping himself in Yemen.

“[MICHAEL] WAS LIKE A STORM. HE WOULD SHOW UP IN YOUR LIFE OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY AND HE WOULD DISAPPEAR JUST AS QUICKLY.”

Sheba, Lincoln, C-Note, and Sheba’s contact visit the prison, who claim there is no one there named Michael Scofield. C-Note shows the photograph of Michael to the guard, who comments this prisoner’s name is “Kaniel Outis.” Sheba recognizes this name as a big time terrorist trying to overthrow the government, and becomes angry that she has been trying to help someone who is responsible for Yemen’s civil war.

The guards retrieve Michael from his cell, as C-Note takes a video to provide Sara evidence that Michael is still alive. Michael claims he does not know who Lincoln and C-Note are, and repeats that his name is not Michael. He finally asks to be taken back to his cell. As he walks away from his brother and friend, he looks absolutely pained and exhausted.

THE VERDICT

Prison Break was such a good show because of the suspense. Every episode had you sitting on the edge of your seat, holding your breath, heart beating out of your chest. You never knew who was telling the truth, who was going to double-cross whom, or what new character would randomly show up and completely overhaul the plot (Michael’s mom, anyone?). Prison Break was also one of those rare plot-heavy shows that also prioritized character growth (Remember Brad Bellick? Yeah, still crying about that, by the way).

This season has that same potential. The gripping storytelling of just this first episode had me on the edge of my seat. I walked away from my television with more questions than answers, a very Prison Break-esque feeling of uncertainty and confusion washing over me. It was so good to see Sara, Michael, Lincoln, C-Note, and even Sucre for a brief second. I’ve really missed them.

That being said, I do have some qualms about this upcoming season. This episode in particular relied heavily on nostalgia; someone watching this show without having seen all the other episodes, would probably, in all honesty, not like it. The characters are skeletal compared to what we saw in the previous seasons, and the plot is moving fairly slowly at this point.

Additionally, there were some inconsistencies regarding character relations, mostly in the fact that C-Note was never great friends with Lincoln and Michael in the first place. Why would he agree to go on such a risky venture to save someone with whom he never had a relationship? It would make way more sense for Sucre to have gone with Lincoln to Yemen, as he was Michael’s best friend. I’m also surprised Lincoln and T-Bag were able to be in the same room together without bloodshed.

And I have a few logistical questions. Are we just ignoring the fact that Lincoln has a son? And C-Note has a family — wouldn’t that deter him from wanting to go to a place as dangerous as Yemen? How did Michael (assuming that he is the “Outis” who donated a large sum of money to Dr. Whitcombe) wire that amount from prison? Does he even have that much money if he’s been “dead” for seven years?

I’m stoked for the remaining episodes, and I can’t wait to learn if Michael is really behind all this “Kaniel Outis” stuff. He definitely has the potential to pull a stunt as crazy as this one, but how did he end up here in the first place? My curiosity has been piqued, and I’m excited to see how this season pans out. I know a lot of Prison Break fans would have preferred the show ended when it did, but I’m thankful for this reboot.

Honorable Events Worth Mentioning:

• Fun fact: “Outis” is Greek for “nobody.” 
• Michael has new tattoos — those who watched the original series know what a huge role tattoos play in the show. In season one, Michael tattoos Fox River’s blueprint onto his body, later lasering off each one of those tattoos to hide his identity. One of Michael’s new tattoos features an eye on the palm of his hand, and I have a feeling this will be important in coming episodes.
• Sara is not in Yemen (at least, not yet), so it appears she’ll reprise her role as a main character from U.S. soil.
• Sucre. Is. Back! My favorite member of the Fox River Eight (besides Michael, of course) made a quick appearance. He wanted to accompany Lincoln to Yemen, but finally acquiesced to Lincoln and C-Note’s pleads not to go out of fear for his safety. I sincerely hope this isn’t the last time we see him, because Sucre is such a great character.
• The label on the suit jacket Lincoln found in Michael’s grave says “Kaniel Outis.”

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New Girl 6x22 Review: "Five Stars for Beezus" (Let Me Be Brave) [Contributor: Jenn]

"Five Stars for Beezus"

Original Airdate: April 4, 2017

What has your fear prevented you from doing? Has it stopped you from getting close to someone because you're afraid your heart will get broken? Has it caused you to miss out on incredible and fun opportunities? Has it stopped you from living your life? Fear is a crazy thing because if we internalize it long enough, we can rationalize our fears and use them as an excuse to not do something. I've long said that Jess and I are one in the same in a lot of ways — we're both perfectionists who have their lives planned out. We both love structure and order and relationships don't have that, as much as we'd like to believe we do. Jess has learned over the years, though, that the best things in life are the ones you can't plan out. She didn't plan to find her boyfriend cheating on her and have to move into a loft with three guys she met on Craigslist. She didn't plan to fall in love with one of those guys. She didn't plan to lose her job, teach in a variety of settings, and eventually become the principal of a school. But she did. Just like Nick never planned to move on from Caroline, to find something he's good at, to finish a novel, or to be a successful adult. But he did all of those things.

Everyone in "Five Stars for Beezus" had to learn to be brave. Life is about taking risks and being brave when things are scary. And boy, did everyone take a leap of faith in this episode. While this felt like it could be a series finale, I hope it wasn't. Because I have a feeling that these acts of bravery are just getting started. So below, I'm going to break down the review by talking about the ways in which each character decided to be brave in the episode.

JESS — BY NOT RUNNING AWAY

I talked last week about how Jess' default response to a lot of things is to run away. She ran away to Portland and in this episode, is prepared to do that again — except for a longer period of time. During a book reading, just as Jess is ready to confront him about her feelings, Nick tells the audience that Julius Pepperwood and Jessica Night will never get together because they're based on real people who are just fundamentally different.

It's then that Jess makes the decision to run. Rather than stay and live in the same loft as the man she is in love with, Jess opts out and packs up her stuff to head to Portland for the summer. Both Schmidt and Cece think this is a bad idea, and are desperate for Nick and Jess to just talk about their feelings rather than avoid them. Because even though Jess is a strong woman, she's primarily driven by her emotions. When she gets emotionally invested in someone, it hurts her. And to be rejected by Nick again is something she just can't physically will herself to deal with. It's easier to run — away from Nick and from the potential of getting hurt — than be brave, especially when your emotions are on the line. But everyone in the episode (from Schmidt and Cece to Winston and Aly) encourage Jess to tell Nick how she feels about him, even if it all goes wrong.

By the end of "Five Stars for Beezus," Jess still believes that running away is the best option. That is, until she hears one song on the radio: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life." She smiles in the backseat of the moving van, and I think she finally realizes that she has something incredibly special with Nick. She can't run away from that, even if she places physical distance between them. There will always be something that connects her to him and if she doesn't tell him how she feels, Jess will regret it. She jumps out of the van and decides to be brave. It's a beautiful moment of character progression for a woman whose default is to protect herself and her emotions at all costs. It shows that she realizes the risk and chooses love anyway.

NICK — BY ACCEPTING THAT CHANGE IS GOOD

Nick gets offered a book deal in the episode, which is a small but important storyline because it is indicative of the very thing Nick fears most: change. When Schmidt learns what happened to Jess and how much it's affected her (to the point of leaving for Portland for the summer), he can't help but come to the aid of his longtime friend. That's why, right before Nick takes the meeting with the publisher, Schmidt lays down some hard truths and gets Nick to really think about what he wants. Because this entire exchange was brilliant, I'm about to quote it:

Schmidt: Why on earth do you think that you are so okay with this Reagan break-up? 

Nick: Reagan and I are in different places in our life. It's fine. Why hasn't Jess called me back? 

Schmidt: You guys are pretty good friends, right? But if you remember correctly, you didn't even want Jess to move into the loft. Nick, why do you think that is? ... Why don't you think you wanted Jess to move into the loft? 

Nick: I don't know. Because I was... I was afraid. 

Schmidt: Nick, you have been in love with this girl from the moment you opened the door and you first laid eyes on her. I have never seen you look at anyone else like that in my entire life. ... For once in your life, don't be afraid.

Nick has always been the kind of person who is hesitant. If you remember in "Injured," he tells Jess as much — that he's not the guy who runs into the ocean with everyone else. He's the guy on the beach, holding the wallets. But slowly, over the years, Nick has learned to accept change. He's learned to grow and to be vulnerable with people. Reagan was a huge step for Nick to learn how to communicate how he feels and what he wants in a relationship. He's no longer the guy who can't finish a zombie novel or who is afraid to run into the ocean. Nick is not afraid of change anymore. 

And that's why he runs back to the loft to tell Jess how he really feels about her. 

(Don't worry, we'll come back to Nick and Jess at the end!)

SCHMIDT AND CECE — BY EMBRACING THE UNEXPECTED AND UNIMAGINABLE

You guys, I can't even express how perfect the scene between Schmidt and Cece at the episode's end was. Backing up momentarily, however, Jess answers Cece's phone and discovers that her best friend is pregnant. Winston and Aly then discover this news by answering Cece's phone on accident, and soon, the only person who doesn't know that she's pregnant is Cece.

I think New Girl did a fantastic job back in the day with discussing Cece's fears about not being able to have children. She didn't want them when she thought she had plenty of time, and to hear Cece tell Schmidt that she didn't think it was possible to have kids was heartbreaking and yet uplifting. When Schmidt is tasked with delivering the news, he does so by filling the room with flowers. And this is where Hannah Simone truly shines, because Cece just starts to break down crying. Even though we haven't spent a lot of time recently on Cece and Schmidt's position on having kids, it feels believable that Cece didn't think it was possible to have them, given her age and issues a few years ago.

It feels so satisfying for these two to have found one another and gone through the journey they did. I'll say one thing about New Girl that I've said from the beginning — they're a show that's in it for the long haul. Through Schmidt's season of villainy to Cece finding love with other people, and then them finally being together, the Schmidt/Cece journey was absolutely beautiful. I am incredibly grateful that the writers took their time developing this pairing because it's proof that playing the long game when it comes to television romance might just be the very best thing. 

I absolutely loved everything about the Schmidt/Cece story in "Five Stars for Beezus" and am grateful to this show for writing such an organic-feeling romance.

WINSTON — BY CALLING HIS DAD

After being told by Jess that he has permission to run away from his problems, Winston decides to do a terrifying thing: call his dad. Aly had discovered his father's phone number and gives him the option to contact him. Winston initially declines in the episode and spends most of his time vehemently against any form of connection. But when he sees what Jess is about to do and how she's prepared to run away from the things that scare her, he realizes he would be hypocritical to tell her to stay if he wasn't facing his fears too.

So he calls.

He gets Van's voicemail, but leaves a message anyway and is open to the possibility of eventually meeting his father. After hanging up the phone, Winston tells Jess that now it's her turn to be brave. Though it takes until she gets into the moving truck to do so, Jess eventually decides to be brave. And that leads us to the final section about bravery: Nick and Jess.

NICK AND JESS — BY CONFRONTING ONE ANOTHER

Nick runs back to the loft, only to find that he's too late. Jess has already packed up all of her stuff and moved out. But at that same time, Jess has run back to the loft to tell Nick how she feels about him. It's an adorable moment because it's a callback to something Nick reminisced about earlier — the moment Jess moved into the loft and he first saw her. It's incredibly important because that was the moment Nick realized he loved Jess for the first time, and this is the moment he realized he never stopped loving her.

A hilarious series of near-misses leads the two in the opposite situation: Jess runs up to meet Nick and he runs down to meet her. They holler to one another to stay put, but of course they don't listen. Instead, they find their way to one another in the elevator. Nick is frustrated because a man is taking his sweet time unloading a cart of packages, and Nick tells the man: "I gotta tell my best friend that I'm in love with her!" At that very moment, the man walks out and reveals Jess standing behind him.

I can't explain the kind of perfection with which Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson play Jess and Nick. All I know is that the way Nick looks at Jess is strong enough to melt a polar ice cap. I have no doubt in my head that either stopped loving one another. Their connection has always been incredible. From the beginning, there has been a spark and when that spark was explored, the two weren't ready for romance to blossom permanently. They were both still stubborn in what they wanted — Nick didn't want to grow up and Jess didn't want to compromise what she believed was the vision of her perfect future. But now Nick has grown up and Jess has realized that planning isn't always the answer.

So when Nick steps into that elevator, it feels exactly like a moment of clarity (and parallelism, because we all remember how "Virgins" had that elevator scene, right?) for both characters. And as the doors shut, they don't say anything — but they're smiling. It's this relief that after chasing after one another for years and after physically chasing after one another in this episode, they're finally in the same spot. IT WORKS ON BOTH LEVELS: LITERALLY AND METAPHORICALLY. When the doors shut, I assumed the episode would end. But as Lorde's "Green Light" swells, the elevator opens and Nick and Jess are kissing.

Fear has been abandoned and everyone in "Five Stars for Beezus" has learned that being brave takes a lot of effort and work. But in the end, it's still worth it. Because bravery is always harder but more worthwhile than fear. If you don't do the things you want to, you may lose your opportunity.

Kids, as Alexander Hamilton once reminded us all, don't throw away your shot. Be brave. See where it takes you.

And now, bonus points:

• I absolutely loved this episode. Liz Meriwether did an incredible job writing it, and it seemed to wrap up the storylines in a satisfying way.
• (Make no mistake about it: I was freaking out during that final Nick/Jess moment. I rewound my screener a few times to re-watch while writing this. True story.)
• "LET'S HEAR IT FOR BOOKS!"
• I can't get over the fact that the publisher's name is "Merle Streep."
• The scene with Nick, Schmidt, Jess, and Cece in the kitchen was comedy gold.
• "He's always dumb. He's the dumbest boy in school!"
• The Nick/Schmidt conversation at the publisher's is so beautiful that I don't even know where to start. But I think my favorite line is: "Don't be afraid." What a lovely sentiment coming from Schmidt, who has grown so much over the years.
• "Are you going to Portland?" "Nooooo. Portland is hella white."
• "What, Winston? I'm using social media!"
• "Now it's your turn. Be brave."
• Fred Willard guest-starred which means that my two favorite comedies (Community and New Girl) continue to share cast members.
• "It's a caramel miracle." True story, I began sobbing when this scene happened. Schmidt and Cece have come so far, and both Max Greenfield and Hannah Simone's acting was absolutely beautiful — totally understated and true to their characters. I have no doubt Schmidt and Cece will be excellent parents. Also, how adorable were all of those flowers?!
• "I gotta tell my best friend that I'm in love with her!"
• A+++++++ use of Lorde's "Green Light" in that final Nick/Jess scene. BRILLIANT.

Well, folks, I hope I'll see you back here next year! Even though this felt very much like a series finale, there's still hope that the show will be renewed and we'll get to see more antics (a pregnant Cece would be hilarious, Winston still needs to reunite with his dad, and we all want another round of Nick/Jess right?). 

Regardless, I've said from the beginning that the show will end with Nick and Jess together so if it does end, I'm happy they're reunited. Thanks to all of you for reading and commenting over the years and I hope this isn't the end for us! Comment below with your favorite lines and scenes from the episode. :)

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Once Upon A Time 6x15 Review: “A Wondrous Place” (Homecoming) [Contributor: Julia Siegel]

“A Wondrous Place”

Original Airdate: April 2, 2017

            

Adventurous, risky, and messy are the best words to describe the latest episode of Once Upon A Time. A forgotten storyline has its much-needed conclusion, a favorite character returns, and girls’ night is in full swing in the jam-packed hour that felt like classic OUAT. The episode layout may have been right, but it was easy to dislike the ridiculous content.

SEPARATED FROM HOME 

The main plot of the night focuses on two groups of characters that are lost. First, Hook and the crew of the Nautilus are traveling mystical waters, after Gideon uses magic to send them away from Storybrooke. They wind up trapped in the Enchanted Forest and happen upon the other lost couple: Aladdin and Jasmine. A handful of episodes ago, Jasmine wished for Aladdin to bring them to Agrabah, and they have been missing ever since. The wish brought them to the Enchanted Forest and gave Jasmine a ring from her past. It was beyond obvious that the ring would play a role later on in the episode.

The two groups unite with the same goal — getting back to their respective homes. To help them accomplish that goal, they decide to hunt down Jafar, who would be helpful to Aladdin and Jasmine but not Hook. Why Hook goes along on this crazy journey is beyond me, since he knows he doesn’t have a way to cross realms and make it back to Emma. At the very least, the journey seems to have helped Hook realize his wrongdoings and want to fix his mistakes. However, there’s not much he can do without being home. The gist of the plot point is solid, yet the execution and writing left me rolling my eyes.

GIRLS' NIGHT!

The best part of the episode was Regina, Snow, and Emma’s girls’ night. Regina knows that Emma is internally struggling with Hook’s absence and decides to force her out of solitude for a round of drinks at the hilariously named Aesop’s Tables. As much as I love a great pun, this seems like the writers watched The Good Place in the fall and liked how they named a restaurant The Good Plates.

There were many positives with this smaller subplot that made the episode tolerable. First, Lana Parrilla’s new haircut looked fantastic. I really like how the hair and make-up department has been changing up Regina’s look for the past few episodes, and this makeover really helps to showcase the character’s transformation. Regina has come a long way, so it is appropriate to make sure the audience can clearly see the changes. Second, a drunken Snow White is one of the funniest ideas to come from the show in all its seasons. Snow has a few too many drinks and challenges some Vikings to a game of darts with throwing knives. If you thought Snow was good with a sword or bow, then you should be very surprised at her throwing skills, which led to a really great moment that stunned me and the other characters.

Third, Emma finally shows some real emotion when she thinks that Hook has left town and bailed on her after their one-sided argument in the previous episode. This is both a positive and a negative. On the positive side, the truth of who killed David’s father is finally out in the open, and Emma isn’t the emotionless robot she has been in the second half of the season. On a negative note, Emma is extremely mopey and broody, which starts to drag the character back to the dark side. Positively, the costume department did a great job of showing Emma’s emotions instead of Jennifer Morrison having to act much differently. The high-throated, dark colored turtle neck Emma wore with messy, unkempt hair was a better indicator of her true feelings than her constant denial of missing Hook. More of these types of girls’ night moments would help make the show much more enjoyable.

THE DISNEY MOMENT EVERYONE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR 

The other great moment of the episode was watching two classic Disney princesses meet for the first time. Even though it was totally random and really didn’t make sense in the grand scheme of things, Ariel and Jasmine meet and form an alliance to save Agrabah in flashback scenes. This is a moment that I think most Disney animation fans would love to witness. Jasmine and Ariel are two of the most classic, beloved princesses from Disney’s animation renaissance period. Watching them interact was a special moment for the show, and OUAT always delivers on these big character moments.

The key reason that this was a fun moment was that Karen David and JoAnna Garcia Swisher are great at playing Jasmine and Ariel respectively. The other reason that the moment worked was it put both the characters outside of their comfort zones. The scene takes place in a beautifully designed Agrabah, where Ariel is literally a fish out of water and Jasmine is too forward-thinking. Later on in the episode, Hook, Jasmine, and Aladdin happen upon Ariel’s real grotto on an island, which was also cool to see come alive. The gadgets and gizmos were aplenty in the cleverly crafted set. These little moments made me smile and think that the show still has a lot of promise, and then each moment became ruined when the plot started to show back up.

FINDING COURAGE 

There were lots of instances of finding courage in this episode. The creative crew of the show were courageous in creating the background story of Agrabah. The sets and costumes were beautiful, but the CGI was disastrous, especially the magic carpet ride. Disney should take note of what did and didn’t work in these scenes as well to help with the currently in-development live-action remake of Aladdin.

Hook was courageous in attempting to do everything in his power to make his way back to his true love. Emma gains some courage back after Hook manages to make contact with her through Ariel’s aptly named shellphone, which is a very tiny conch shell that can be spoken through across dimensions. This was honestly more of Emma gaining her sanity back, as she realizes that she does belong with Hook and that he truly does love her. Emma also shows some old spark of courage after being approached by Gideon, who wants her help to destroy the Black Fairy. The fact that this took how many weeks to happen is beyond ridiculous. The OUAT writers need to explain why Gideon didn’t use teaming up with Emma as his first option. On the downside, Hook won’t be back in Storybrooke until Emma fulfills her duties with Gideon.

Jasmine has the largest courage arc of the episode. I was quite annoyed for most of the show at the interpretation of the character because she was showcased as a weak woman who wouldn’t stand up for herself. This was surprising because it goes against the grain of the purpose of the show. The female characters are supposed to flip the script of their animated counterparts, not simply be them. It was an odd choice to present a very weak Jasmine, but at least she does learn to come into her own by the end of the episode to face Jafar. The episode does end with Jasmine and Aladdin making it back to Agrabah, so it appears that they won’t be showing up again for now. As much as I did enjoy having Jasmine and Aladdin on the show, there really isn’t a use for them anymore.

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Blindspot 2x17 Review: "Solos" (Baggage) [Contributor: Jen]

"Solos"

Original Airdate: March 29, 2017

Hello Blindspotters! Sorry I missed you last week. Life got busy, but I did not forget about you or the last two episodes of Blindspot. Let's do a quick recap of last week's "Evil Did I Dwell, Lewd I Did Live" and then dive into this week's "Solos." Major revelations happened last week: Nas does not die, which is nice because I like Nas. We finally find out who her Sandstorm contact is — Cade! Remember Cade? Well, in case you have forgotten, Blindspot has those trusty flashbacks to fill in the blanks.

Dear Blindspot,

Thanks for not making me remember stuff.

Love, me.

Cade isn't a fan of the United States, but he isn't a fan of Shepherd's Phase Two plan either. His father was a coal miner who died in a mining accident. Cade wants to stick it to the government, but he's not down with hurting innocent people. His intel is a bust however, because Shepherd planted a bug inside Patterson's tooth while she was held hostage. So that's how Sandstorm has been one step ahead every time. Just when you think Patterson can't be violated anymore. Yeesh. Team Blindspot turns the table on Sandstorm and leads them into a trap with the bug.

It leads to a showdown with Patterson and Borden. Borden tries to get Patterson to kill him, but she refuses. She's taking him in. (That's my baby girl!) Borden tries to apologize, but then — being the coward he is — blows himself up with a grenade. We end "Evil Did I Dwell, Lewd I Did Live" with Patterson emotionally numb and demanding the dentist remove her tooth without anesthetic. My take is she wants to feel something even if it's pain. Reade passes a random drug screening (bullet dodged), but Zappata reports him to Weller. And Jane and Oliver are kidnapped! Which brings us to...

CASE OF THE WEEK

It's official: I'm over the tattoos. Blindspot is a stronger show when it ditches the procedural element and follows the complicated but fascinating Sandstorm plot. "Evil Did I Dwell, Lewd I Did Live" was a strong episode primarily because it focused on the characters and the larger overarching Sandstorm plot. It's the same with "Solos." Jane's tattoos are of little factor. Instead, it's Oliver who's gotten them into hot water.

Oliver's father is a Bernie Madoff type. He orchestrated a ponzi scheme and disappeared with $200 million. Herman is the kidnapper's ring leader, and his daughter killed herself after losing her all her money in Magnus Steele's ponzi scheme. He's out for revenge, but there's a twist. He's also kidnapped the children of Magnus Steele's partner, Edith Kananacks. The children are being held at a different location. Magnus and Edith can either pay back the $200 million or watch their children die.

Oliver quickly deduces that Jane isn't your everyday gal. Our girl is extremely effective in a crisis. However, she is overpowered rather easily a few times by the kidnappers. It irritated me at first, but then I realized she may have been cautious so the kidnappers didn't kill the children. It forces Jane to use her brain instead of her brawn. Patterson isn't the only smarty pants in the Blindspot family! Oliver tells Jane that his father has an old work number where he checks messages, and Jane convinces the kidnappers to let Oliver call the number. Then, she takes the phone and uses key Sandstorm words in her message so the call is flagged by the FBI and they can track her location. Jane also gives Patterson an additional coded message, which alerts the team to the location of the children.

Once Team Blindspot secures the kids, it's back to kicking butt. Jane takes out most of the kidnappers, and even convinces Herman not to kill Oliver for revenge. However, one of the other kidnappers kills Herman when he doesn't pull the trigger. The remaining kidnappers take Oliver and Jane to his foundation where he can wire them $50 million. In another ingenious move, Jane scratches out the symbol of Oliver's foundation so Team Blindspot knows where to follow. Oliver struggles with the kidnapper during the wire transfer until Nas shows up and shoots him. Jane, of course, is able to free herself.

Anytime Blindspot highlights Jane's resourcefulness, it's a strong episode. She's the female MacGuyver and that never gets old. The real purpose of "Solos," however, is to blow up Oliver and Jane's relationship — which is absolutely fine by me.

TEAM BLINDSPOT

There was a fracturing of the team and a rebuilding, in a way. Zappata knows about Reade's drug abuse now and she tells Weller when Reade fails to. Kurt tries to approach him like a friend, which is very generous of him since Reade is committing a felony. He tells Reade to take a leave of absence and get help. Reade is in permanent self-destruct mode though and flips out on Weller. He tells Kurt that they aren't friends or family. Kurt is his boss, and tries to keep his cool. He tells Reade not to throw away his career — which, of course, is exactly what Reade does. He quits.

The self-destruction isn't over. Reade refuses to speak to Zappata, and then tries to score drugs at a bar. When the dealers recognize him as a cop, they beat the crap out of him. What's frightening is that I still don't think we've hid Edgar's lowest point.

Patterson isn't doing so great either. She wants to quit therapy because Borden is dead. She wants to move with her life. The therapist persuades Patterson to talk about Borden's death and the additional violation of the bugged tooth. Patterson is insistent that she's fine, but we know she's not. When she finds a copy of Oregon Trail that Borden gave her, it occurs to Patterson that there may be bugs. She ransacks her apartment looking for more hidden devices.

Patterson is about control. It's why she likes puzzles so much. She likes to find the answers. It gives her a sense of control in a world that has infinite variables. However, Patterson can't make sense of what's going on inside of her. She is feeling anything but control. There's a strong desire, post-trauma, to pretend you are fine when you are really anything but. We don't want trauma to change us, even though that's inevitable. We fear the person we will become, because what if it's someone we don't recognize?

In a lot of ways, Patterson is on a similar trajectory as Reade — even though her coping mechanisms are different. They are both losing control because they don't know how to deal with the trauma they've experienced. It's why Patterson and Reade need tethers — people to hold them steady when the world is spinning. The question is, who will be the person Patterson and Reade reach out to? Or will they reach out at all? My hope is that find their way to one another because I think they are the only people who can truly understand what the other is going through.

As for the rebuilding, Nas and Weller obtain Roman's release. He's put on house arrest and is allowed to live with Jane. He's also able to provide some valuable intel from a memory. Roman posed as a benefactor to a trust fund, which Weller and Nas believe is funding Sandstorm. It gives them an avenue to trace Shepherd. Weller is reminded of Jane in his interactions with Roman. As the memories return, Roman is growing more and more convinced that he is a monster. Kurt is convinced Roman is not the enemy; Shepherd is.

Nas and Weller decide that if they treat Roman like a monster, he'll become one. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If they want him to be on their team, they need to start treating Roman like he is on their team. The psychologist is staunchly against this. She warns Weller and Nas that every memory Roman uncovers can potentially turn him back into the murderer he was. Truthfully, this psychologist seems to put very little stock in free will. She acts like Roman's memories control him — that there's no value in the new memories he's making, or the connections with Jane and the team. The best way to combat those memories is to allow Roman the chance to continue developing those connections. I'm with Nas and Weller on this one.

Here's the kicker though: Jane is still lying to Roman. She zipped his memories. While her intentions are good, Jane is still controlling Roman with lies just like Shepherd did. That's not love. If Jane really wants a relationship with her brother, then she has to tell him the truth. If Roman finds out from anyone else, she could lose him forever. That potential is still there if Jane tells Roman she zipped him, but at least she'll stand a fighting chance. Nas and Weller gave Roman the opportunity to start choosing for himself. Jane needs to give Roman that same freedom.

KURT AND JANE

Jane and Oliver survive, but their relationship doesn't. Oliver is looking for someone with less baggage than him and Jane doesn't qualify. Poor Jane. It's easy to forget (pun intended) that so much of life is a first for her. Technically, this is her first real break-up. It went a million times better than Oscar. Dumping is a big step up from a battle to the death. Honestly though, who cares? Nobody actually believed this relationship had a real chance.

Zappata and Jane have a little girl talk, and I am absolutely loving the friendship that is building between these two. If you had asked me which two characters would be bonding at the beginning of the season, Jane and Zappata would have been last on my list. It's Zappata who realizes the scratches in the couch are the foundation logo and it's Zappata who pulls Jane aside to discuss her relationship with Oliver. Jane explains Oliver's reasons for the break-up and Zappata tells her his reasons are crap. She explains everyone has baggage. Oliver and Jane just weren't right for one another. "Because when someone is really right for you you make room."

Enter: Kurt Weller. No, really. He walked into the room right after Zappata said that. Real subtle, Blindspot. Nobody has more baggage between them than Kurt and Jane. There's more baggage still coming (I haven't forgotten you are still lying to Kurt, Jane Doe.) I said in my Arrow review this week that unconditional love isn't ignorance to someone's flaws. Unconditional love is about challenging a person another to do better and still loving them when they fail.

That's what Kurt and Jane have. No matter what happened between them, they found a way to make room for each other in their lives again. They were able to deal with the baggage by challenging each other to do better... and finding a way to forgive when they failed.

Releasing Roman was Kurt not only taking a leap of faith in Roman, but in Jane. Kurt believes in Jane. He believes Roman will be a better person for having Jane in his life because that's how Kurt feels about her. After everything, Kurt believes in Jane's goodness. She may fail. She may make mistakes. But that doesn't make her unworthy; it makes her human. More than anything, Kurt has always been able to recognize Jane's humanity and it's the reason he can see it in Roman.

The absolute joy on Jane's face when Roman told her he was getting out brought tears to my eyes. These are just two traumatized children who were ripped away from their parents and their home. They had to learn how to survive at a very young age and all they had was each other. Roman is integral to Jane discovering who she and vice versa. They need each other. Only now, maybe they can need each other living in the light instead of surviving the dark.

Kurt gave Jane a gift — he gave her a little piece of home. Kurt gave Jane her family back. Jane tries to explain what it means to her, but Kurt interrupts and says, "I think I have a pretty good idea." There's a softness in his voice, and a tenderness in his eyes. His looks at her with so much love. Even though she isn't Taylor Shaw, I think when Weller looks at Jane, he still sees family. Only it's a family he's never known before. It's not a family of his past, but of his future. Kurt can name off all the practical reasons why releasing Roman was necessary, but at the end of the day, he did it for Jane. Because Kurt loves her.

Stray Thoughts:

• Roman remembers the trust fund was in Alice Krueger's name. Jane Doe was loaded? How, who, what, where and why? I HAVE QUESTIONS.
• Why is the FBI investigating the team? I swear this FBI does more investigating of its own people than it does criminals.
• Can't Patterson have someone sweep her apartment for bugs? It feels like there's someone to do that at the FBI.
• If the promo is to be believed, then someone is leaving the team. Any guesses? I'm thinking Nas. She'll take the investigation hit for the team.

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Grimm 6x13 Review: “The End” (Everything Has A Beginning And An End) [Contributor: Alisa Williams]

“The End”

Original Airdate: March 31, 2017

“Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

After six seasons of wesens, Grimms, and a little bit of magic here and there, Grimm has finally come to an end.

*cue moment of silence*

I’ve been with this show from the very start and am legit feeling A LOT of emotions about its end. It’s been a wild ride of ups and downs, campiness and heart, and I’ve loved every minute of it even when the storylines were a bit thin and the audience was expected to follow approximately 87 subplots at once. Despite frustrating and sometimes comical flaws here and there, Grimm remains one of my favorite shows of all time. It brought the magic of the Brothers Grimm fairytales to television and did it with heart, week after week. So, it is with great sadness and a few tears that I’ll review this very last episode. Here we go.

In the final episode, Nick has been blasted unconscious by Skull Guy/Zerstorer. He wakes to a nightmare: the entire police force, including my beloved Hank and Wu, are dead. Nick immediately tries to revive them with the stick, but for the first time ever it doesn’t work. Trubel rushes in and sees the destruction. She asks the question we all immediately had: why didn’t Zerstorer kill Nick, too, or at least take the stick while he was unconscious? After all, this stick is supposedly the only thing standing in Skull Guy’s way of becoming completely all-powerful and unstoppable.

Nick calls Adalind and Renard to fill them in on everything. Adalind has news of her own — that based on what Diana said, Skull Guy wants both baby Kelly AND Diana. Trubel heads to the cabin to protect Adalind and the children while Nick heads to the spice shop, where Rosalee, Monroe, and Eve (do we call her Juliette again now that her powers are gone?) are all frantically looking through the Grimm books, trying to find out how to defeat Skull Guy.

Monroe finds a super vague reference to one’s blood being able to “destroy the destroyer.” That reminds Rosalee of a potion she’s seen where the blood of three opposing forces (a Grimm, a wesen, and a Hexenbiest) are all combined. Normally, this would be next to impossible to get, but luckily the team has all three: Nick, Monroe or Rosalee, and Adalind.

They set to work mixing the potion, but blood from the three “forces” has to be added all at the same time, which means the team has to get to Adalind. Rosalee and Monroe head out in one car with the partially-mixed potion. Nick and Eve/Juliette plan to follow right after but before they can leave, Zerstorer bursts in. Eve/Juliette yells at Nick to get out of there because his blood is needed for the potion and she takes on Zerstorer herself.

Before Nick can make a run for it, Zerstorer blasts him into a wall and then causes Eve/Juliette to turn the knife she’s holding on herself. She stabs herself as Nick comes to. He runs to her and she dies. Meanwhile, Zerstorer disappears. It seems he’s taking out all of Nick’s team one by one until only Nick is left. It also seems he might have some sort of link to Nick? I mean, he keeps showing up wherever Nick is.

Nick tries desperately to revive her with the stick but, just like with Wu and Hank, it does nothing to help her. In a rage, Nick begins smashing everything in the spice shop, yelling at Zerstorer to come back. I don’t know why Nick thinks destroying Rosalee’s livelihood will entice Zerstorer to come back. And it doesn’t.

Meanwhile, Rosalee and Monroe have arrived at the cabin and fill Trubel, Adalind, and Renard in about the potion and their plan. They’ve also brought quite a few weapons with them with the thought that perhaps they can dip bullets/arrows/etc. in it and that way cause damage to Zerstorer.

Nick arrives at the cabin shortly after, distraught and angry. They set to work with the potion. Adalind, Monroe and Nick place their hands on top of each other’s, over the bowl. In order for the potion to work, a knife has to be stabbed through their hands while Adalind and Monroe are woged. Renard volunteers to do the stabbing (not surprised).

After they’ve been stabbed and the blood drips in, their hands immediately heal. The potion begins boiling. When Rosalee goes to stir it, the spoon dissolves. Here’s hoping that’s what happens to Zerstorer, too.

Just then, Diana comes up the stairs and says she feels “different” and isn’t scared anymore. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing. When Renard says it’s okay and she doesn’t need to be scared, she says, “Oh good, so you know he’s coming here.” Well, now they do. Diana also fills them in on what we already suspected: Zerstorer knows where Nick is. The stick tells him. So, Nick’s basically been keeping a homing beacon on him at all times.

Suddenly, Zerstorer appears. He does his staff blasty thing and everyone is knocked to the ground except Diana, who remains standing. She smiles at Zerstorer and does her creepy glowing purple-eyed thing. As Zerstorer looks at her, he transforms from Skull Guy into his human form. Then he offers her his hand and they walk out of the cabin. The team wakes up as Diana’s walking out and starts screaming at her to stop.

Renard rushes out of the house and attacks Zerstorer. Diana yells at Renard, defending Zerstorer. She seems to be in some sort of trance and says that Zerstorer needs her. Nick shouts at Trubel to take baby Kelly and run. She wants to stay and help, but Nick insists. As the team races outside, Zerstorer transforms back to Skull Guy and stabs Renard with his staff. Renard collapses, dead. Diana looks a little unsure about the whole thing. The team throws the potion on Zerstorer’s face and he screams, his face sprouting ugly boils. For a minute, they think it’s working. Nick’s not going to take any chances though and goes to cut off Zerstorer’s head with his axe, but Zerstorer throws a hand up and stops him. As he looks up, his face clears of the boils and he throws Nick to the side.

Adalind screams at Trubel to run but before she can, Zerstorer slams the cabin door shut, trapping Trubel and Kelly in the house. They all start attacking Zerstorer at once, but they’re no match for him. He manages to grab Nick’s axe from him and then proceeds to stab Adalind. With her final breath, she tells Nick to save Diana and Kelly.

When Zerstorer grabbed the axe, he dropped the staff. Rosalee runs forward and grabs it, holding it out to defend herself. But Zerstorer just looks at her and suddenly the staff she’s holding is a poisonous snake that bites her in the neck. Monroe pulls the snake off but then it bites him, too. All of them die. Only Nick and Trubel are left. And Zerstorer has disappeared again.

He reappears with Diana inside the cabin, where Trubel is. Diana shouts at Trubel to stay away from her brother. Trubel tries to protect Kelly but Zerstorer makes quick work of killing her. Nick rushes to her side. Diana says she and her brother are ready to go with Zerstorer, and that Kelly likes him, too.

Nick tells Zerstorer that he’s taken everything from him and is not going to take his son. Zerstorer says that doesn’t need to happen — that none of this does. Nick realizes that Zerstorer isn’t capable of killing him or taking the stick from him, but that’s what he wants. Zerstorer smiles his agreement with Nick’s assessment and tells him that he’s willing to give him something in exchange: the resurrection of all of his friends. To show he’ll make good on his promise, he resurrects Trubel in front of Nick’s eyes.

Trubel wakes up confused and disoriented but quickly catches on to what’s happening. Nick takes one look at his son and willingly offers the stick up. He holds it out toward Zerstorer. As the stick gets close to the staff, both the stick and a portion of the staff (where the missing stick goes) glow green. Just as Zerstorer is about to take it, Trubel intervenes with some good questions. Like, why can’t Zerstorer just take it from Nick by force? What is Zerstorer not telling him? What happens when he gets the stick and his staff is completely restored? According to the prophecy, that would make Zerstorer all-powerful and he’d bring about the end of the world. At least Trubel is thinking these things through.

Nick isn’t listening, though. He’s only thinking about all the loved ones he’s lost. He tries again to hand the stick to Zerstorer but Trubel stops him again and they scuffle. She knocks him down, grabs the stick and races into the woods with it. But it begins burning her hand and she has to drop it. Nick catches up with her and they fight again. He seems out of his mind and beats her up pretty good. Just before he deals what would undoubtedly be a death blow, he stops, picks up the stick and begins walking back to Zerstorer.

As he makes his way back through the woods, the sky darkens and thunder rumbles. Suddenly he hears a voice calling to him and his deceased mother, Kelly, and also-deceased Aunt Marie both appear, telling him not to hand over the stick. If he does, they say, the world he knows will become like the Other Place he saw: endless pain and suffering for humanity. They confirm that Zerstorer cannot take the stick himself — it must be freely given. That’s why he killed everyone Nick loves, so that Nick would give up the stick.

Nick doesn’t know what to do. He wants his friends back and he wants to protect Diana and baby Kelly. He tells his mother and Aunt Marie that he can’t defeat Zerstorer. The team tried the blood potion and it didn’t work. But they tell him that the power to defeat Zerstorer lies inside Nick. The blood to defeat him is in Nick’s veins — and Trubel’s. Nick contains the power of all his Grimm ancestors and it’s that power, that blood, that can defeat Zerstorer.

With the little pep talk complete, Nick heads toward Zerstorer with renewed purpose. Kelly (his mother, not the baby) and Aunt Marie walk with him. Trubel races up too and now it’s four Grimms against one. It doesn’t appear Trubel can see either Aunt Marie or Kelly, but whether they’re figments of Nick’s imagination or not, the damage they inflict on Zerstorer is real.

All of them battle against Zerstorer. Trubel stabs him in the leg, Aunt Marie stabs in the back, and Kelly chops off his arm. Nick grabs the staff from where Zerstorer dropped it and the stick zips into its rightful place in the staff. With the staff now fully restored, Nick stabs Zerstorer in the heart with it, finally defeating him.

Kelly and Aunt Marie warn Nick to guard the stick well. It is ancient and powerful. Trubel walks up and says she can’t believe she and Nick defeated Zerstorer, just the two of them. Nick’s confused at first but then realizes Trubel couldn’t see Aunt Marie or Kelly. Diana comes out of the house and asks Nick where the other Grimms who were fighting with him went. Apparently she could see them just fine.

Just as Nick realizes he can use the staff to save all of his friends, Zerstorer’s body turns to ash and begins spinning in the air. The ash turns into a portal and begins to suck the staff through. Trubel screams at Nick and tries to hold on to him, but the portal sucks both Nick and the staff through. Nick comes shooting out through the mirror in Monroe’s house, and everyone is there. It’s taken him back in time to the moment when he and Eve originally came back through the portal from the Other Place. They’re all alive.

Everyone’s super confused as to why Nick is hugging everyone and shouting about them being alive. Only Diana knows what happened. She turns to Eve and tells her she’s a Hexenbiest again. Eve is confused about what she means by “again,” but Nick knows. Diana then turns to Nick and tells him that Zerstorer didn’t come through the portal this time — that he’s dead and she’s not afraid anymore. Just then, Monroe spots the staff. Zerstorer may not have come through, but the now all-powerful staff did. Nick has a lot to catch them all up on.

In the final two minutes of the episode, we fast-forward 20 years and hear a voice relating the story of Zerstorer and the time Nick saved the world. It’s baby Kelly all grown up, sitting in Aunt Marie’s trailer, writing the story into one of the Grimm books. A grown-up Diana bursts in, telling him there’s wesen to kill and their parents are waiting. Oh, and the triplets (Rosalee and Monroe’s kids all grown up) will be joining them, too. Kelly grabs the staff from Diana and they head out. The final credits role, and it’s the end.

Final Musings:

• “Everything has a beginning and an end.” “Well, I’m not finding any beginning or end to whatever Zerstorer is.” 
• “I’ll die before I let you have her.” “I know.”
• “What you think you have to do is not what must be done.” 
• “How did you know I needed you?” “We feel it.”

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Grey’s Anatomy 13x18 Review: “Be Still, My Soul” (How to Say Goodbye) [Contributor: Julia Siegel]

“Be Still, My Soul”

Original Airdate: March 30, 2017

The rawest episode of the season is just what the show needed to pull all the characters back together. After weeks of everyone ripping each other’s throats out, it was nice to see the fighting characters unite when tragedy strikes one of the doctors. Ellen Pompeo’s directorial debut was emotionally gripping and beautifully shot, leading to a staple Grey’sAnatomy episode.

DENIAL 

Maggie’s mother, Diane, is much sicker than anyone originally thought, which was a major shock to Maggie at the end of the previous episode. Maggie’s denial of the situation at hand is difficult to watch. She doesn’t know how to handle her mother’s worsening state other than to be an overprotective, over-controlling daughter. The main issue is that Maggie is trying to be Diane’s doctor rather than her support system. Since Maggie acts out by controlling Diane’s treatment, Diane doesn’t get the best treatment possible. None of the other doctors have the heart to tell Maggie or Diane the truth about Diane’s failing health.

Maggie’s grief also leads her to be less than sisterly toward Meredith. After she doesn’t like the new diagnosis, Maggie forces Meredith off her mother’s case. A little later in the episode, Maggie makes an incredibly insensitive remark to Meredith about caring more for her mother than giving up and throwing her down a drain, which is a reference to Meredith and Richard “spreading” Ellis Grey’s ashes down the drain of the scrub sink in OR 2. Maggie spent the episode being rude to her sister, mother, and biological father. She makes a similar quip to Richard about how she needs her father and completely shuts him out.

Maggie’s shock and fear over Diane’s cancer is completely reasonable. However, there is no reason for her lashing out at anyone who doesn’t agree with her. This was Maggie’s episode to shine, and the character let her emotions get the best of her in the worst of ways. Maggie has a long climb ahead of her to get out of the hole she has put herself in.

APOLOGY ACCEPTED 

As emotional as watching Maggie and Diane’s downward spirals made the episode, there was one nice thing to come out of the dilemma. Richard and Bailey are forced to work on Diane’s case together, as they are Maggie’s next surgical choices. Although they spend most of the episode on the outs, by the conclusion, Richard has decided to put their differences aside and make up with Bailey. The events of the episode force Richard to have a new perspective on the situations that have previously been playing out. With Richard and Bailey back on good terms, maybe things around the hospital will start running smoothly again.

Also by the end, Maggie leans on Meredith and Amelia for support. Maggie finally learns to accept help from her sisters, even though she feels she is tougher than that. Meredith understands exactly what Maggie is going through, so she goes into full shoulder-to-lean-on mode. Unfortunately, that means she has to put Nathan on the back burner for now. Nathan and Meredith do share two nice moments during the episode where he says he understands that Meredith needs to be there for Maggie, but his disappointment drips through every word. It will be interesting to see when these two finally get together and don’t put each other off.

DIRECTORIAL DEBUT 

The episode also marked Ellen Pompeo’s directorial debut, and she did a fantastic job with a difficult script. I really enjoy the episodes that cast members Kevin McKidd and Chandra Wilson direct, so I was excited to see what Pompeo would bring to the table. Pompeo’s directing style was very different from the typical Grey’s Anatomy style. There were lots of sweeping, long shots with very few edits. Pompeo used lots of close-ups and two aerial shots that really added to the emotional gut-punch of the action.

I liked that Pompeo made sure that each actor was in the right emotional state for every scene. Nothing seemed out of place or over-the-top, which was great. The use of the traditional Grey’s musical themes helped propel the episode and keep the audience informed as to what would happen based solely on familiar tunes. I’m not sure whose decision that was, but it was a perfect way to keep the episode engaging. There was no one better to direct a moving episode like this than someone who has devoted so much to the series and knows exactly how to get the point across. Hopefully Pompeo will direct more episodes in the future because her first try was great.

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