If Problems Were Rotten Teeth...

Mad Men, S05E13

Megan was asked by a friend to use Don to get a part in a commercial, but Megan asked for herself instead.  Pete saw Beth again and met her a hotel before she went to shock therapy.  Don's guilt at his past made him see visions of his brother, and he avoided going to the dentist to fix his toothache.

Maybe it was just me, but I felt like this episode didn't have as much punch to it as I was expecting.  I suppose that's not necessarily a bad thing because I was a little scared what other horrible things might happen that hadn't already.  Luckily, there was just a general sad cloud hovering over the whole episode, but nothing that happened was particularly too bad.

I thought nothing good could come from Emily asking Megan to ask Don to help her get the part, but I never thought that Megan wouldn't even do it and ask for herself.  Wow.  I'm not sure whether to call her determined in her acting career or a bad friend.  It just made her asking Don to pull strings for her even shadier, for some reason.  I dunno.  I was glad that he pointed out that commercials weren't anything like the kind of acting she really wanted to do because I didn't want him to help her, but I also felt like he was purposely trying to get in her way.  A commercial could at least get her name out in the public and open doors for her.  I think that Don is a little afraid of helping her, like he's helped others, and them moving on without him.

Case in point, Don ran into Peggy at the movies.  He could barely hide his disappointment that things were going so well for her because their paths no longer intersected.  Peggy is proof that if Don supports someone's dreams, they may become so successful that they will just walk away from him.  So, I'm surprised that Don broke down and helped Megan get the part.  But I'm sure it was after seeing his wife drunk, miserable, and devaluing herself that made him change his mind.  That, along with some other things like Marie saying that Megan basically was just an artist in mind but not in talent, surely helped him come around.  But there was something so lonely about when Don left the set where Megan was getting prepared for her role as Beauty and he was walking into the darkness.  It was as if he would never see her again (hopefully not, though).

Another pretty sad moment was when Don thought he was doing Lane's wife a favor by paying her back Lane's investment into the company, but she was less than grateful and accused him of putting Lane into a position that was above his talents.  Furthermore, she accused Lane of having an affair with the woman whose picture he kept in his pocket and demanded that Don tell her who she was.  I'm not saying his wife was out of line, but I'm saying that she shouldn't have dumped everything that went wrong with Lane's life when he joined SCDP on Don.  No one else would have dared come visit her in person (perhaps maybe Joan), and I'm sure that the money he gave to her would have been kept in the company if Don didn't see to it.  I just wish there was something else he could do besides hand out checks--he seems to think that will always smooth things over.  I knew it wouldn't, but I still appreciate that he can even bother to do something.  It's just too bad that his efforts were a bit meaningless.

The only thing that did get taken care of easily was Don's toothache. He got it removed before he even knew it, thanks to the gas.  It was crazy, with his kind of money, that he was so stubborn about taking care of it.  He just kept saying that it would go away on its own.  I'm guessing that's what Don hopes a lot of his problems will do.  Like the hole in the office that has been created now that Peggy is gone.  Clients, who want a woman's opinion, are unhappy with pitches that an all-male staff have come up with.  It's obvious that he needs to replace her in someway, but he's dragging his feet about that too.  And with Joan reporting that they are making the most profit they have ever, it's ridiculous that they don't hire someone else.  But despite this is a problem for Don, I liked seeing Michael being pissed off that his ideas were treated like shit.  Glad there are limits to his genius.

The Pete and Beth story was just as irritating as it was before.  The only thing that was good about it was that Pete admitted his affair with her to Howard and their fight helped Pete get kicked off the train (and punched by the conductor).  Also, Beth has no memory of him, so that works out as well.  I can't feel bad for Pete when he has more than most people will ever have.  I just can't.  Even if he's always been unhappy and was just fooling himself with his life with Trudy, I can't look past that.  I didn't want to see him happy with Beth or anyone, especially after he treated Joan so shabbily in another episode.  Pete can stand to be more miserable, and I hope that he gets a little more in the next season.  Oh, and Pete had the audacity to tell Howard that he was the most disgusting person he's ever seen--has Pete ever looked in a mirror??  If he hadn't gotten punched in the next seconds after saying that, I would have been so pissed off.

At the very end, Don was hit on by some attractive woman, and I wondered if the recent events would make him go back to his old ways.  I don't know if I could blame him, but I'd still disapprove.  He should know by now that sleeping around on his wife doesn't really fix anything.  I'm just in awe in how easy it is for him to meet women.  It's just amazing sometimes, even with his charm.  If only temptation wasn't walking around him all the time maybe he would stop trying to distract himself from his problems with random women.  But then it just wouldn't be Don Draper.

This was an impressive season overall.  My hatred of Pete has deepened, but at least he's gotten beaten a few times this year, so I can stand to see his stupid face for another season.  It's going to be weird to see the company without Lane or Peggy, but I'm hoping that this change will bring someone else new who can spice things up.  I'm not sure if I want to see Megan make her mark into the acting world, but whether she does or not, I hope that it won't make things too strained on her marriage with Don.  Don just needs to find something to cheer up with soon.  I doubt he'll find it within his work, but who knows?  He just better not find it with another woman.  I liked the improved Don in this season, and I want to see him continue to change for the better.  Whether or not the situations around him will encourage him to do so is yet to be seen.

No Chicken Fights, Please

Family Guy, S10E23

Joe decided to have an affair after experiencing problems with Bonnie and being convinced from his friends that it was only fair since she cheated first.  At Kevin's birthday, Bonnie learned of his infedelity and Joe learned that Bonnie had never cheated.  They two seemed to be on the road to divorce until Peter helped Joe and Bonnie recreate they first meeting.

We had another long Peter and Chicken fight that we hadn't seen in a good while.  The absence of this long-running gag helped me not pull out my hair at the sight of it again, but it was hardly the best 5 minutes of the episode.  I did like that they had a part where Peter and Chicken went back to the Old West, via Stewie's time machine.  They were able to get back by hitching a ride on car being pushed by a train in a scene that looked just like Back to the Future.  Besides that, I found myself wanting to push a fast-forward button so that the fight would hurry up and end.  I'm not sure if this is the final fight between them since Chicken did open his eyes at the end, but he was burnt to a rotisserie crisp, so maybe we never have to suffer through another of their fights.  I'm begging for the latter.

 The fight between Bonnie and Joe wasn't that interesting except that we learned that she didn't cheat on Joe in France.  Maybe they told us this already, but I thought she had.  It made reconciliation for the couple look bleaker after what Joe had done.  I doubted that after their big blowout at Kevin's birthday party that they would even want to look at each other again.  But then we saw how Joe and Bonnie first met.  That was another surprise--didn't expect Bonnie to have been a stripper when they first met.  Makes me wonder if it was all a fairy tale from then on.  After all, when Peter succeeded in making them feel like it was their fateful first meeting again, they were swept away enough by their love to agree to work on their marriage.  It's been a long time since this show has done something that was even remotely sweet.  That was the last thing I thought I would see in their season finale.

Finally, I think I only liked one cutaway this time.  Stewie went into a door that said "This is not an exit" and found there was a gorilla on the other side to beat him up.  He complained the door should have been less vague about what awaited behind the door.  It's funny how such a rather simple joke works so well for me.

For the last episode in the season, there wasn't a lot of comedy, unless it amuses you to see Peter fight Chicken for the fifth or whatever number of times.  I will say it's probably the fight I hate the least of them all.  Also, it's nice to see that they haven't abandoned completely the idea of ending a story on a happier note rather than something bitter and mean-spirited.  It gives me a little hope for what the next season might bring.  There were probably as many episodes I liked this season as there were ones that I didn't.  But I don't think this show has quite peaked yet, so I'm definitely still firmly strapped in await for what things they will shock and amuse us with in the 11th season.

Lisa Denounces Gaga

The Simpsons, S023E22

Lisa was feeling bad for herself after both receiving an award for being the least popular and being exposed as promoting herself on a school message board.  Lady Gaga, traveling on her outlandish train, felt the presence of Lisa's low self-esteem and stopped into Springfield to cheer her up and the rest of the town.  After many failures to cheer up Lisa, Gaga herself adopted an uncharacteristic defeated attitude when Lisa exploded all of her frustrations upon her.  However, it turned out that was just what Lisa needed to bring herself out a dark and sad place.

For the season finale, I suppose they couldn't have gone bigger with a guest star other than Lady Gaga.  I'm not much of a fan of hers, but I don't think this episode was too cheesy.  In fact, I liked the way they poked fun of all of her outrageous outfits and flashy performances.  I think my favorite Gaga outfit was the one she had made out of meat where Homer kept roasting and eating it right off her.  If she had let him keep eating, it probably would have ended up being the fastest time Homer ever undressed a woman.

Another thing I just liked about Gaga in this episode was that she kept trying to promote positivity.  Yes, she was pushy despite that Lisa wasn't interested in her help, but I liked her style.  She could have been very vain and all flash and no substance, but she really wanted to see Lisa smile again and was truly hurt when Lisa exploded on her like she was the worst thing to come to town since Mr. Burns.  So I was little happy to see Lisa and Gaga make up and sing a song together (even though I didn't like the song).  Although, when Gaga was sad she was crying little diamonds, which was funny and sort of random.  That was a nice touch to add to the idea of her extreme glamor.

There were a lot of other little things that I enjoyed.  One was when a piece of glitter from Gaga's first little show in town landed on Mr. Burns' head and made him fall off his feet.  Another was when Skinner told Lisa to go along with her mean-spirited award in order to make things easier for herself.  Instead, the kids laughed at her and Skinner admitted that he doesn't know much about children.  The irony in that joke was not lost upon me.  But my favorite joke was probably when Moe was chasing after Gaga's train when she was attempting to leave town, asking her to wait:

[Moe] Can you help me with my self esteem?

[Gaga] I'm not that good.

Poor Moe.  Even the magical-like Gaga can't turn him into something that could remotely resemble a human.  But I loved that she didn't even need a moment to think about it.  Even someone who hasn't know Moe for more than a second can tell he's a hopeless case.

Finally, I think it was interesting that Homer was singing his own version of "Poker Face."  It wasn't hilarious, but I did like him putting "dohs" into the song to replaces "ohs."  I'm glad they saved that until the end when most people had probably stopped paying attention.  It wasn't a strong enough song to be included in the actual episode, so that was a smart move.  But I would have liked to see Homer dancing or something to the song.  That might have been good.

Overall, I don't think this was a bad finale with such a huge guest star.  I doubt that it was good enough to draw in fans that have been lost over the last decade or so, but I'm sure it made some people interested in how Lady Gaga would fare in Simpsons world.  I think she didn't do a horrible job and obviously had fun with it.  It was definitely a lot more funnier than I anticipated, and I had very low anticipations about a story about Lisa and Gaga.  This season wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't a complete failure, much like this episode.  So I think this was a good episode to end with.  It reflects the general tone of the 21 others.

Grimm's Future For Me Looking Grim

Grimm, S01E22

Nick and Hank were investigating the murder of a private investigator that Akira, a person involved in Nick's parents' murder, had hired.  They found pictures of Nick, Hank, Renard, and Monroe, and Akira began to turnout their houses looking for the gold coins.  Adalind brought her cat to Juliette and a scratch from it made her ill.  Before she was hospitalized, Nick tried to explain about being a Grimm and the Wesen, but Juliette failed to believe him.

It was a bit convenient that after Nick found out about Akira, he came to town looking for information about who might have had the coins he was looking for.  I suppose with the incident before it would make sense that he would get wind of the coins landing in Portland, especially when he had already encountered Farley without them, but I just figured that Nick might go looking for Akira, not the other way around.  I was surprised that Renard wasn't able to do much against Akira himself, even if he was ambushed.  I just expected that a reaper would be able to put up a better fight.  But Akira did seemed highly skilled and powerful, so I suppose I can see why he wouldn't be able to do anything.

The fight between Nick and Akira was a little impressive.  I never expect Nick to be able to do more than get by on the skin of his teeth, simply because I just don't buy that he should be that skilled.  But when fighting Akira, who seemed like a force to be reckoned with, he was kicking some ass.  Maybe it was because he was face to face with the killer of his parents, or maybe it was because he had been "training" in the more recent episodes.  It's going to take a while before I believe that he's that good at fighting Wesen he's never been up against before.  At least Nick wasn't that successful with the crossbow full of sleeping potion.  If he had gotten that shot, I would have been so calling bull crap, especially since Nick had only seen Akira for a second before attacking.

Nick never got to question Akira about anything because the mystery lady stabbed Akira to to death and then revealed herself to be Nick's mother.  I couldn't be that surprised or invested in that finale "bombshell."  It just seemed random and like a ploy to get viewers to keep watching next season (if there is one).  Yes, I would like to know how and why Nick's mother faked her death (and what became of Nick's father), but the execution of his background story was handled so poorly that it seems a little forced.  There's enough to handle on the Grimm mystery plate without this.  Of all the things that could have been made clearer, Nick's parents were not on the top of my list at all!  Maybe it has to do with those coins, which are obviously very important to the story overall somehow, but who cares at this stage??  For them to end the finale with that made me just groan.

Another thing that was left open was the matter of Adalind's cat attack upon Juliette.  Rosalie and Monroe had just begun to paralyze her cat to find out what might have been put inside of Juliette, but we have no idea.  All we know is that Juliette became conscious again, but seemed to be affected by the same dark influence that Adalind's cat was exposed to.  I thought we were going to see Juliette start attacking Nick or something, but that was as far as the Juliette and Adalind (who was nowhere to be found when Nick went looking for her) story went.  Seriously?  That's all we get?  But we got to see Nick's mother appear.  What a rip.  Couldn't Adalind's revenge story started another time??  It was just so annoying that barely anything had developed and it was over.

Then the "jewel" of the episode was when Nick was finally pushed to shove with hiding the truth.  Either he had to fess up or watch his girlfriend die, really.  But Nick's idea was to bring her to his crazy, late aunt's trailer and show her all of the Grimm stuff in one swoop.  But Nick didn't try to ease her into his world at all--he just rambled on about different Wesen and weapons in such a scatterbrained way that anyone would have thought that Nick was just suffering from psychosis, not saying any facts.  What the hell??  He totally blew it!  He's had time to prepare what he would say and use past strange occurrences to back up his stories.  Instead he just sited those random moments and pointed to drawings in old Grimm books and expected Juliette to just believe him.  I wanted to shake him.  So disappointed at how he carried himself.  At last, he made a desperate attempt to have Monroe show his wolf side to her, but by then it was just too late she was out.  Freaking ridiculous.

I think there were many other episodes that had more force than this one, yet this was supposed to be the season finale.  I still don't feel any deep attachment to the relationship between Juliette and Nick, so I'm not entirely worried about her fate.  To tell the truth, I'm not too worried about anything that they left hanging in this episode nor the others.  After sticking with this show for the entire season, I don't think that I will be tuning in for much longer.  If there is a second season, I might look at the premiere, but I doubt I would continue to watch after that.  And if there isn't a second season, I wouldn't be broken about it either.  This show has been like trudging through a muddy river in search of a tiny earring.  I think I'm about ready to abandon ship with this one.

I Thought The Season Ended

Happy Endings, S02E22

Alex got the others to join a kickball team sponsored by her store, Xela.  Jane had joined a different team and defeated them at the semi-final match, but she later joined her sister's team and got Team Xela into the finals.  Dave failed to get over his yips in the game, so they replaced him.  However, at the last minute, they needed Dave to fill in for another player and he finally kicked the ball (into Penny's head).  They lost the game, but celebrated anyway.

I thought the season finale was the one about the wedding where Alex and Dave seemed to have gotten back together, but in this episode, I didn't sense they were together at all.  I heard there was a "lost episode" for this season, but I'm not sure if it's meant to be this one or not.  At any rate, I think this kickball story was weak and could have been removed.

There was barely anything I even could smile about while watching, but it wasn't a complete disaster.  Max's defeated-before-trying attitude while coaching wasn't too bad.  He was almost funny in the way that he kept setting the bar lower and lower for the team's performance, but he just didn't quite get me to laugh.  Also, not entirely bad was Brad trying to coin the nickname "Bunt Cake" for himself throughout.   His persistence nearly made that joke work.

Nothing more to say about this episode, except that it makes me wonder if I want to continue to watch this show.  It seems to have lost its humor for me the more it goes on, but I don't want to miss any good Max moments either.  We'll see what kind of "adventures" they get into next season before I decide whether I'm holding onto a former favorite that has possibly past its prime already.

Tedtoria--Not So Much. Barbin--Knew It All Along

How I Met Your Mother, S07E23-24

Barney and Marshall struggled to get back to New York for the birth, while Ted and Robin tried to keep Lily calm with stories.  Marshall just managed to get there in time to see his son, Marvin be born. A week later, Ted decided to contact Victoria and found out she wanted to run away with him on her wedding day.  Robin continued to fail to take a decent family picture for Lily and Marsh to use for their announcement cards.  Barney got held up in the airport security when he refused to reveal the trick inside of a magic box.

Since the finale was an hour long, it had a lot more opportunities for funny moments.  I think it was really funny how Ted had a huge picture of himself in the labor announcement email that he sent against Lily's wishes.  It should be more pathetic that he's living his life through Lily and Marshall, but it just reminds me of how ridiculously close Ted is to his friends.  It's really hard for him to see themselves as separate people.

My favorite story that Ted and Robin told Lily about was the one about Marshall's cursed pants.  He found a note in the pocket written in Chinese that sent him to some interesting shop in Chinatown.  Despite that the owner went into the back where it was glowing bright green as if there was magic afoot, it was only a ticket for dry cleaning.  Of course, it would be.  This is pretty much how my second favorite story, the mysterious door, ended.  I would love to do that to one of my friends, but you would have to trust that they would be so cautious they wouldn't go into the broom closet until the very last second. 

I also liked how younger Lily made it seem like her dad was a stranger and got security to get rid of him.  Then in the present as he was freaking her out, she simply called for security and they dragged him out of the room in seconds.  Man, I would like to go to a hospital where I could just remove people like that (or any place, really).

It was cute how they all dressed as John Bender because they didn't coordinate well for their group Breakfast Club costumes.  The idea of each of them dressing as one of the characters is interesting.  They have exactly enough people and all the right genders.  Lily could be Claire, Robin could be Allison, Marshall could be Andrew, Ted could be Brian, and Barney could be Bender (although, I think Neil Patrick Harris resembles Brian more).  I'd just love to see that.

What I didn't love was Robin coaching Ted on who he should have ended up with.  She was quite right that he kept betting on the wrong horses for love (thus, why I'm fed up with him after these years), but I can't believe that she thought the best thing for him to do was re-explore Victoria, a woman who was supposed to be engaged.  I really liked Victoria and I thought she and Ted made a good couple, but it just didn't feel right for her to suddenly come back and want to run away with Ted.  To me it sounded like she just wanted a quick out and was scared.  If she really wanted to be with Ted, why not just tell her fiance her feelings in person instead of telling him with an empty altar.  I was really happy that Ted was going to take her back to the church until he started remembering all the good times.  I wanted to choke him when he passed the church.  Really?  You're going to go for Tedtoria??  That was the last thing I expected!  I can't help but to think that the start of the next season will show Ted's actions blowing up in his face.

What I did expect was that Barney's mystery box was somehow a proposal ploy.  I don't know why I knew, but he was being overly secretive about it and purposely ruining their getaway.  Any man that can hug his girlfriend upon seeing that she had remodeled his bachelor lair into "Tinkerbell's vagina" has to love a girl deeply enough that he wouldn't actually try to ditch her for some magician's convention instead.  I know it's TV, but Barney would have definitely gotten shot before he had one chance to explain himself in the airport.  But I'm glad it was dragged out so we could see his elaborate trick where a ring appeared on top of a growing flower.  That was amazing!  It was a really wonderful proposal.

But I knew Barney was meant for Robin, the second he mentioned this was their last chance to go off together.  That connection between them has always made me think the woman he was marrying in those random previews of the future was Robin.  I never doubted it for a second, even when both of them started dating others.  I just knew they would find a way.  I still think Robin is a jerk for abandoning Barney for Kevin and then tossing him away too, though.  After breaking his heart like that, I really wonder what Robin did to win Barney back (especially when he already had Quinn).

This was a pretty good ending to this season and had one surprise that I didn't see coming.  I just really can't be happy that Ted is simply recycling his relationships (that's how he got in trouble with Robin), but maybe Victoria will finally lead him to the girl he's supposed to be with.  I know the series is supposed to be about the events that led up to Ted meeting the girl of his dreams, but I can't imagine being less enthused about who his true love is if I were his daughter and son listening to the story in the future.  It's a shame that Barney made such an inventive proposal on a girl that he won't end up with in the long-run, but I feel a little proud that Barney is transforming into a man who can at least commit enough to want to be engaged to someone.  Robin is going  need some transforming of her own and that will be something I look forward to in the next season.  Not looking forward to Ted wasting his time with Victoria.  Or Marvin (Waitforit--are you kidding me with that middle name?) turning Marshall and Lily into boring parents.  Hopefully, they won't do any of those things next season and I'll have a reason to want it to come back in the fall.

The Mastermind, Mr. Gold

Once Upon A Time, S01E22

Emma finally believed in magic once Henry was in a coma after eating the poisoned turnover.  She confronted the Queen about her actions and asked her to fix the situation, but Regina couldn't do anything without magic.  The two went to Mr. Gold for help, who gave Emma a sword and told her where to find the last bit of magic snuck into the Storybrooke world.  The magic was in an egg, which was hidden in the belly of a dragon held in secret underground  location by the Queen.  Emma managed to reduce the beast to ash and get the egg, but Mr. Gold tricked her into handing the egg over to him.  Emma and the Queen didn't have the time to take it back from him because the hospital called with news about Henry.  When it looked like Henry was dead, Emma gave him a kiss that cured him and removed the curse.  All around town, everyone remembered their original lives.  However, Gold used the last bit of magic in a well that can bring back lost things.  We also saw the story of how Charming saved Snow from her own poison apple and how they were engaged.

As much as I wanted Emma to believe in Henry, I was just a little disappointed in the way that she realized that the stories were true and who the Mayor really was.  It just seemed so simple that she would hold the fairy tale book once again and only at that moment would the truth be revealed to her.  Then again, August did say that Emma was only seeing what she wanted to see, so I guess if she had even the faintest desire to want to see past the illusion of the curse, that was when she would come to her "senses."  I got over this disappointment when Emma took the Mayor into a closet and was throwing her around.  It was funny and it was nice to see that after all the crap that the Mayor had pulled.  Most of all, it was nice to see the Mayor defeated by her own game and Emma the one calling the shots.  Of course, since Emma is new to the game, she had no idea what to do to help Henry (since the Queen was useless then), but I knew that Mr. Gold would be able to help.

You gotta love how Gold was putting the Queen in the corner when Emma went to him for help.  He basically told her to shut up and let Emma handle everything.  Made me laugh.  Gold wasn't surprised that Emma had realized the curse was real and already had her father's sword prepared for her to take.  This man really was just sitting around until things just fell into place for him.  It doesn't surprise me at all that he managed to hoard some magic into their current world, but it did surprise me that it was in a dragon that existed in both worlds.

The scene where Charming puts the egg into the dragon and Emma is trying to retrieve it were so similar that I got irritated that they kept switching back and forth.  I like when the stories from both worlds blend, but this was too much.  What was good about those scenes was seeing Kristin Bauer as Maleficent again.  She doesn't have much of a role on this show, but I think she plays a witch quite well.  It's too bad she had to be a dragon in both worlds.  How is it that she remained a beast in the other world as well?  I suppose that everyone was reborn in the way that the Queen saw fit and that was how she chose to keep her.  Still, Gold must have really been scheming well to know that the Queen would bring her to Storybrooke in that form so that he would have a way to get his egg back.

Unlike her father, Emma was not an impressive dragon slayer (not that he was there to kill it).  She thought it would be a better idea to shoot at the dragon before she used the sword that Gold (someone who freaking knows how the magic world works) gave her to use.  But I'll give Emma a break because it's not common knowledge on how one should defeat a dragon.  I wasn't too impressed that one random throw of the sword landed in the dragon's belly and destroyed it.  Emma basically ran around for a little bit and threw the sword one time and won.  I wanted her to work a little more for it.  It was supposed to be the cure for Henry's condition anyway.

I loved that Mr. Gold so easily stole the egg from Emma and had the Queen tied up.  Everything he does is so simple, yet it is very smart.  I mean, he didn't have to hide the egg himself in the magic world, nor did he have to do the work to get it back in the other world.  The Queen was a fool not to buddy up with Gold better; he's the one with the smarts to make everything move according to his own wishes.

Since a kiss worked on Snow before, it was not too surprising that Henry came back to life from Emma's kiss.  I expected more of a big reaction from the townspeople as they regained their memories and less of Regina's easy retreat back to her empty mansion.  I would have at least loved to see someone throw some old fruit at her for all the crap she's done!  But the biggest fireworks from the curse being lifted were Snow and Charming embracing each other in the middle of the street.  I wish that it moved me as much as it should.  I was still unable to forget about Charming as David, the weasel.  But I'm sure that Snow has no intentions of ever holding that against him.  At least "David" as we know it is gone.  I will miss, MM, though.

I think I was more moved by Belle finding Gold and their reunion.  It was even sweeter when Belle realized who she was and they both said that they loved each other.  Of course, that moment was diminished by the fact that Rump seemed to be bringing back magic to their world for nefarious reasons.  There was something very sinister about that purple smoke rolling over the town.  It looked more like a new curse than Rump simply bringing back magic to their lives.  However, it must have been just that because the Queen looked upon the fog with satisfaction.  Nothing good can come out of her having her powers back.

I wonder what will happen to Jefferson after he arranged for Belle to escape and sent word to Gold that the Queen was behind her being locked up (and seeming to be dead)?  The curse has been lifted, so he should go back to being with his daughter, but surely the Queen won't let him get away.  He also seemed to have something to do with Henry taking a turn for the worst before Emma saved him.  I hate that he needed to get at Henry to punish the Queen, but he is a little obligated after the way she used him as she did.

Lastly, I just wanted to say that I expected a little more emotion when Charming awoke Snow from her kiss.  Snow woke up so casually, and Charming just as casually responded to her being alive again.  Neither of them knew that would happen!  Why weren't they more shocked??  And Charming should have shown a little more joy and appreciation, rather than be almost cocky about curing her curse.  Maybe it was just me, but I was bothered by that scene.

I wish that the season finale was twice as long because they were just starting to get into some new drama!  We knew that Henry would be saved, but it took nearly the whole episode to see him cured.  I wanted to know more about Rump's ultimate plan and what he has in store now that the curse is lifted.  He has Belle back at his side, but he surely doesn't look like a man who is going to kick back and enjoy his happily ever after.  There was little shown of everyone's reactions to their memories being returned, and I desperately wanted to see what they thought about how they had conducted their lives for the last 28 years.  And of course, I wanted to see the Queen pay more for her crimes beyond losing Henry.  I simply can't wait to see what Gold has up his sleeve and what the Queen will do to try to regain her position on top.  It was a good finale, but they left me wanting for a lot more!

Leslie's Election Brings Change (Or Not)

Parks and Recreation, S04E22

Leslie was nervous about the outcome of the election, but she had her friends and Ben there for support.  The initial tally said that she had lost, but a recount showed that Leslie was the real winner.  Ben got offered a job in Washington by Jennifer, but wasn't sure if he wanted to accept it if it meant being apart from Leslie.  April was afraid that she would be fired because she lost some important files, so Andy was helping her think about some dream jobs for both of them.  Chris had one more romp with Jennifer before she left town, and Tom proclaimed that his dream predicted that he and Ann would get back together.

I liked that this episode marked a lot of change in everyone's lives, not just Leslie's.  She won the election, but I feel like it won't change Leslie that much.  She's been dying to make Pawnee a better place since day one, so her win is only going to give her more power to do so.  But it was nice to see Leslie grow from just a Parks and Recreation employee to someone with power to make some major decisions in the city.  But it wasn't just Leslie that was going somewhere, but also Ben.  I never thought that his brilliant campaigning would impress Jennifer enough that she would want to offer him a job.  As much as I like Leslie and Ben together, I'm glad that she told him that she'd be selfish to not let him grab the opportunity.  After all, he had worked so hard to make her dreams come true, so it was about time she let him have some of his own (a great step up from being mocked as a horrible, teenage mayor).  I can't imagine Ben not around anymore, so that's a change that I will have to get used to.

Another thing that was interesting concerning change was Ron's proclamation that he's a man of consistency, but he approves of Ben and Leslie's relationship:

Well, I've never been one for meeting new people, or doing new things.  Or eating new types of food.  Or traveling outside of southern Indiana.  I've had the same haircut since 1978, and I've driven the same car since 1991. I've used the same wooden comb for three decades. I have one bowl. I still get my milk delivered by horse. But you and Leslie like to hold hands, and jump off of cliffs together, into the great unknown. You two have a good relationship. I don't personally know what that's like, but, I'm given to understand it means you're gonna land on your feet.

He's ridiculously stuck in his ways.  I thought after that speech of his that him taking the job to work with Chris would be a great contradiction, but Ron turned it down.  I have to admit I couldn't imagine him not sitting in his office, ignoring as many people as he could.  Just wouldn't be right.  I also liked how even Chris wasn't about to have someone like Jean Ralphio work for him instead.  Chris is pretty easy going, but I guess there are some people annoying enough that he can't put a positive spin on them.

 I'm glad that things didn't have to change for April, and she wasn't in danger of being fired.  I did like Andy's enthusiasm in brainstorming new occupations.  I noticed, just like April, that the jobs he listed were all in law enforcement, but I still didn't think about him becoming a cop.  I'd be scared with someone like Andy carrying a gun all the time.  It was cute, though, when Donna came in and got all the files back in a matter of seconds and April hugged her.  Then Andy joined in and it was just a big ball of love.  Good God, if only every office situation in real life could be as loving as this one.

It was emotional to see Leslie give her winning speech about how she owed her victory to her friends and supporters, but I was more touched before she knew she had won and Ron had come to comfort her.  Leslie was thinking that she would let everyone down if she lost, but Ron let her know otherwise:

We did it because we care--about you. You had a dream and we wanted to support your dream. That's what you do when you care about someone. You support 'em - win, lose, or draw.

There's something about these caring words coming out of Ron's mouth that made me so touched that I teared up.  He's the one who tries to hide his love of Leslie the most, but he's in the same boat as the rest of their department.  I really envy the support system that she has--it's something that everyone could use.

 Relieved to see that this season finale has the result that I wished for.  It seems like it's been such a long journey for her to get there, especially after her original campaign team dropped her after the "scandal" with her and Ben.  Leslie beat the odds, and she did it without being super sneaky and sticking to her beliefs.  This ending makes me really proud of her and love the employees of the P&R department even more.  If NBC were foolish enough to end the series right there, I would be sending them as many hate letters as I could.  I'm so excited to see what Leslie will do as a councilwoman next year! As one of my favorites, I'm missing this show already!

Nick Moves...To The Desert

New Girl, S01E24

In the finale, Nick seemed set on moving out, despite Jess' attempts to make him stay.  However, when he was driving to Caroline's apartment, he passed it and drove out to the desert and got himself and his friends stranded there after throwing away his keys.  Jess later came with Cece and also seemed to throw away her keys.  They all spent the night there where Jess and Nick were cornered by a coyote, Schmidt broke off things with Cece, and Winston freaked out about the darkness and werewolf attacks.  By the morning, Jess had accepted Nick's choice to move out and stopped pretending that she lost her keys.  Nick finally made it to Caroline's, but he moved back to the loft with the others before the day was through.

I was happy to see Jess fighting for Nick to stay in a pretty aggressive way.  It was great when she was trying to intimidate the guy who would take Nick's place (played by Thomas Lennon), but Winston and Schmidt weren't about to let her get her way.  She tried her best to chip away at the confidence that Nick had that he was doing the right thing until the very last second that he had packed up all his stuff.  I thought she hadn't gotten to him at all until Nick flipped his manic switch on and drove the moving van into the middle of nowhere and tossed away his keys.

The best thing that happened while the gang was stuck out in the desert was easily Winston's freakout.  I had no idea he was so afraid of the dark and vicious animals.  I was laughing so hard when Jess came to rescue them to only "throw" away her keys just like Nick had and Winston lost it:

No!! Come on!! People, just...please listen to me. Stop throwing your damn keys! The werewolves come out at night, man... I don't want nobody to eat me! I got thick thighs, I got a fat ass!

He really was acting like they were going to die out there.  For someone who could walk around with a hideous piercing like it wasn't anything, it's amazing how being trapped out in wilderness with his friends (and enough shelter from Nick's stuff) that he would simply lose it.  I would have probably wanted to hurt both Nick and Jess, but I wouldn't have started talking about werewolves killing them.  Winston is so unexpectedly funny when he loses his cool (especially when I couldn't stand him at first).

Another great moment was when Nick and Jess were confronted by a coyote.   It wasn't just good because the two of them handled meeting a wild animal very badly (they kept shouting and making unnecessary roadrunner noises), but Jess and Nick had an opportunity to speak earnestly with each other about him leaving.  Jess was dead set against it until she listened to Schmidt wanting to let Cece go for her own good.  I really loved when she told him to do what made him happy and that she would be fine without him because she had met him already.  I also just loved how they were looking at each other.  Made me wish that they would have hugged, at least, with all that emotion going on.  Instead, Jess started to act like a coyote herself and scared off the real one.  Really?  Is that what scares coyotes?  Ridiculous.

The last best part was unquestionably when Nick returned home with nothing but his boombox and one of his mix tapes.  Everyone started dancing (pretty badly, but in a funny way) in their own rooms once they heard Nick's music.  Everyone except Winston who banged on the wall for Nick to turn it off.  I was really satisfied with this ending because it seemed to fit.  The balance of the loft was restored and Nick and Jess may not have become a couple yet, but you could still see a future for them.  I just wonder if they can get rid of that new roommate they let move in for a few hours so quickly.  Will we see him again or was he just a random appearance?

I'm also satisfied with Cece and Schmidt splitting up.  They both just need to do a little more growing.  Schmidt needs to be more confident that Cece actually cares for him and no one else and that their relationship is meant to be.  And maybe he can't do that on his own and needs Cece to make a grander gesture before he can stop saying things about not trusting her "taste in men" because she slept with him.  But I don't know why she would try to win him back after he said something like that and read a text on her phone.  They might just be one of those couples destined to break up and make up a million times.  Can't say that I'm eager to watch their journey to a real relationship.

I'm sad to see New Girl end its first season already.  I think they made a really good start and there was enough progress made by the characters that they have seemed to have grown from the first episode.  It would be cruel if FOX didn't pick it up for another season so we could see what else might happen to these crazy people who live together (and Cece).  Most of all, I gotta see if Jess and Nick ever get any closer to admitting how much they love each other.  We've watched their feelings for each other grow practically in every episode while they distracted themselves with other doomed relationships.  Next fall, I'll be ready to see how the gang can make me laugh again and how Nick and Jess will finally find a way to get together.

Archer Thinks Of Others! ...Just Kidding

Archer, S03E10

Yesterday we got to see the season finale of Archer.  Since they don't have that many episodes to begin with, it seems to have gone by really quickly.  I think that it ended pretty well with ISIS managing to take down the traitor faction, get a little revenge on Barry, and return home alive (I emphasize "alive" and not "unharmed").  For a moment, I thought that Archer had seen the light, if not only for an appropriate time (the time being until they were back to Earth in one piece), but Archer remains Archer in the end.

Despite that Archer resisted against their captors (his best being when he attacked Wu while shouting "Woo!"), it was pretty clear that if Drake had offered Archer an alcoholic drink, he might have easily joined their side.  When they didn't seem to be offering him anything tempting, he first suggested that since they only wanted Lana (apparently they looked up all her information and thought she would make the best babies for Mars), he asked for the men to be let go and then just himself (of course).  I hadn't thought that they specifically wanted Lana to be "The Mother of Mars," but thought that they just happened to hire ISIS and figured that a spy female was the best they were going to get for their re-population schemes.  As creepy as their plan was, Lana had to be a little flattered that they thought her DNA was the best stuff around.

I didn't appreciate that Lana had to be nearly naked for most of the episode, but I liked that she was so vain about her boobs.  When Archer suggested that they were getting saggy, she just couldn't let it go, even in the midst of a fight.  The ISIS crew managed to get away from their captors to only be captured once again.  They were pretty unimpressive in their escape attempt.

I think the badass medal for this episode should go to Pam who was not only smart enough to prepare to attack if Drake and his men tried to get on the ship, but also managed to sneak up on Drake and get him at gunpoint while Carol was busy being a "whordiot," letting the enemies into the ship.  That stupid little bitch.  Pam should have been made an operative instead of freaking Cyrill.  At least she increased the chance that they would return to Earth, while Cyrill, shooting off madly after Drake blasted off his own head, killed Kellogg, the only other person who was unquestionably qualified to fly them back home.  After Cyrill screwed up right after Pam had saved the day, I didn't easily see how they would make it back home.

When Barry started approaching them on a space ship, I was really thinking that he might be the one to "save" them, even though there was no doubt he came to space to kill Archer again.  I'm not sure why he needed to do so when he already stole his fiancee, but I guess when Archer is concerned, he can't suffer enough (at least while he is alive).  Barry was pretty funny in the way he kept taunting Archer to come play with him, but Archer held back his pride and refused to open the doors.  It was really amazing for him.  I also wondered that if somehow Barry's revenge had turned into a necessity for him, in the sense that he would never kill Archer for real because then he would have no one to chase after anymore.  I mean, he followed him off the planet--is it really that serious?

Archer's seemingly change of heart paid off when he cheered Cyrill on to land them safely home; Cyrill turned the ship around so that the fire from the engine would destroy Barry's ship.  Ooo...  How is he going to get home?  I don't worry too much about him because he's sneaky, a cyborg, and there are many, many people around on Horizon that they will probably find a way for him to return to Earth.  After all, if Barry's not around, who is going to be Archer's annoyingly persistent arch-enemy? (Archer-enemy, if you will allow a bad pun)

I felt a bit of relief when Archer stopped acting so unselfishly and nearly killed them all when Cyrill was just about to land the ship safely to Earth.  I'm not sure how Archer managed to get off without a scratch on him!  Lana was using crutches, someone had an eye patch, and Ray was back in his wheelchair (for real this time, I'm sure).  I liked that the episode ended with him acting like an ass because that's what this show is all about.  I wouldn't have minded a little cliffhanger to make us anticipate the next season (I hope there will be one, FX!), but this ending is just as well.

The sky is really the limit for next season, and I can't wait to see what ISIS is up to next time.  I wonder if Lana and Archer would ever get back together.  They seem to hate each other, but I feel like deep down, they still protect each other in non-obvious ways.  I'd like to see less of Mallory's attempts to get laid, and less of Pam's naked body.  The thing I'd most like to see is the return of Barry and a more equal fight between he and Archer.  They have to make a really epic (although Archer hates that word) battle between them soon.  Guess I just have to be patient and see if that happens next year.