Reign: Catherine Is Mary's Rock

Catherine has your back, Mary!

                Wow, it's been a week and I'm still shaking from that rape scene. There's no delicate way to say it. Mary went through a horrible trauma and she's going to be struggling with that for a while, but Catherine proved to be an ally that night. 

Boy please! These are queens you're addressing

             Catherine has known Mary since she was a toddler and they did develop a mother/daughter relationship during that time. But then came that stupid prophecy and Catherine went crazy trying to bump off Mary. Anyone else remember how Catherine blackmailed Collin in trying to rape Mary? Is that irony? Or just a cruel joke? Doesn't matter. In Season 2, Catherine and Mary clashed on a few matters but they grew close, at least close enough to respect each other. They did have that unscheduled field trip, disguised as peasants and almost being assassinated. But this event has cemented a bond that Mary may rely upon in the future.

Let Catherine be your rock

             After the horrible event, Mary ran away down the hall and bumped into Catherine. I could tell from the look on Catherine's face when she first saw Mary she had a feeling about what happened being that Catherine herself was raped as a girl. Catherine was an all-star, talking Mary down and then up. Mary was ready to crumble, clutching to the table wanting to crawl into a hole and die, but Catherine wouldn't let her. Her speech was very inspiring and it managed to get Mary to her feet and go out, stand tall, and address the court. Catherine was there, letting Mary take the stage, silent but very supportive. And it didn't stop there. Catherine stuck with Mary after the speech, tending to her needs. She was the A-team and even when Francis came in Catherine never stopped with her support. Mary drew enough strength from her mother-in-law to at least tell Francis about her trauma. 

The CW has taken a dark turn...
I like it

            I didn't think The CW had the stones to do a rape scene. Mostly it's just teen drama stuff but this boldness kind of earns some respect from me. To top it off, Adelaide Kane did a PSA right after and it's a part of the video. I streamed the episode on Hulu and saw the PSA after it ended. Sexual Assault for many is an uncomfortable subject but the fact is it exists and it's important to know that what happened wasn't your fault. You are not a victim you are a survivor.

The Librarians: The Adventures Continue

The Librarian is back

                  Watched The Librarians series premiere and I have to say it wasn't bad. The writers have stuck to the movie franchise's style as well as entertaining us with a few jokes, and wowing us with the magic and mythologies. Also with the franchise's elements: the Serpent Brotherhood for one and Judson may be deceased but he still hangs around. Hopefully we see him in the future.

Can you see the sailboat?

           Critics have said the show is too light and a bit goofy. DUH! That's what the Librarian movies were all about. They were meant to be optimistic and a side tickler. This isn't Lifetime where there has to be a rape and a murder every few frames. Lighten up! TNT is known for its dark and edgy content but The Librarians promises to brighten it up a bit. Too much dark content can turn one cynical so it's nice to have a show that can make you smile, laugh, and be awed by it's wonders; silliness and all. 

For Librarians they don't spend that much time in libraries

            Noah Wyle was especially a welcome sight. You know him from TNT's other show post apocalyptic alien series Falling Skies. I don't miss the beard, I'll be honest. It felt like old times really. Flynn's neurotic, weird yet lovable nature with an encyclopedic knowledge still shines although I felt it kind of out-shined the newbies a little. Since Flynn will be off trying to find the Library that's drifting through a void between space and time, it'll give the new characters a chance to woo us. On a side note, I didn't think you could kill off a sword and evoke at least some kind of emotion. Poor Excalibur. 

They have both brains & brawn

          There's still room to grow. If TNT does cancel The Librarians it wouldn't change a thing. The franchise won't be ruined. The last film kind of stopped on an open ended note and the same would be true if there was only one season. I for one hope that TNT continues this interesting series. Time for some light humor and fantastical adventures.

         

Dominion: Claire's Fashion Evolution

What to wear...

           I loved the fashion choices for our female characters but Claire's evolution of fashion was the most interesting to me as it mirrored her emotional and mental growth throughout the season.

Meet Vega's ruling house

        In the Pilot, Claire was "Vega's Princess" basically. I caught a sense of an Ancient Rome vibe from her dresses. The first one was a white dress with two slits on each side. Also the crown of flowers was a nice touch that brought the whole priestess outfit together. We get a message that Claire is kind of modest, interested in simple pleasures, and takes joy in helping others. Then during the Jubilee, Claire sported The House of Riesen's official colors of red and gold. Royal colors and a gold circlet. This was another crown, her "princess" crown for official events while her flower crown was mostly her preference of (as I said) her simplicity.

Even in casual clothing Claire looks cute

       Episode 2 and 3 were mostly Claire in pants and a casual shirt and jacket. Claire's a princess of the people and prefers the comfort of casual clothing behind closed doors. At this point she's still reluctant with the idea of inheriting her father's seat and marrying William but that changes.

Getting ready to take over office

       Episode 4, after Claire reconciles with the idea of ruling Vega, she starts dressing more like a business woman with the Senate Room as the office; a nice dress, a blazer and sensible heels. Loved the trench coat too. The cream colored blazer was "too nice" and Claire needed a slightly darker color to intimidate.  

Make way! Diva in the house!

Love how it accentuates her figure

       I loved her cocktail dress in Episode 5. It was simple and elegant with little accessories except for David's necklace. Claire's moving from a glittering princess to a calculating queen. There was that scene with William where she wore a very feminine outfit. Blouse top and skirt. I want to say lavender. Color means a lot. This light color is a non threatening color that gave William the impression that Claire was begging for his help out of the purest intention. More like she was manipulating him and using that outfit to throw him off. Claire is getting crafty.

Lavender is best used for manipulating saps

Nice pattern.

       Episode 6 was a very dark moment for Claire. She kind of starts wearing darker clothing after this. It starts out with Claire having her first political meeting with her father so she could practice for the future. Before you could say she was more of a center piece but now she's becoming an active player in politics. She wears a dark dress with a simple design. Claire wants to project that she's serious about taking office. 

She's feeling somber today.

       Episode 7 we saw little of Claire but I did notice her color choice ran on the darker spectrum. She's a bit more detached and calculating so she didn't need a girly dress or bright color to help her with William. She didn't falter once, she's more confident and bolder with putting her plans into motion.

White is for suckers. 

       In the season 1 finale we saw Claire as Lady of the City. First the wedding dress. It wasn't the classic white but white somehow would have seemed unfitting for Claire. White is usually associated with innocence and sanctification but Claire is neither. A dark pink/magenta color seemed perfect for her. Then we see her wearing black dresses. When we see black we think of mourning, loss, or someone is evil or has evil intentions. However, black is also a color of maturity where one wants to be taken seriously and Claire had grown up a lot this past season. 

Claire is all business

Her eyes put you under heavy scrutiny with their intensity

         I also felt having her hair pulled back completed her outfit. Claire is entering into a harsh, unforgiving environment called politics, which has been dominated by men. Having her hair down sort of gave off too much feminine energy when she wanted to be taken seriously and exert her authority. Having her hair back gave her a masculine quality but she's no less a woman and one will have little choice but to look into her intense eyes when she's speaking. We all saw that steely stare she gave Finch in "The Flood", he gave in without much of a fight. That will have more affect with her hair back. In the last scene of Alex's letter to their unborn child, Claire wore lighter, softer colors. It was a tender, emotional moment that didn't require her to hide her feelings so no hiding behind a cloak of dark brooding colors.

This is a tender moment, no black required

          I really enjoyed watching Claire evolve over the course of season 1. I'm excited to see how her wardrobe will also evolve with her in season 2.  





        

       

The Flash vs The Arrow

Yeah yeah don't get cocky, kid.

                   It's only been discussed in fan chat rooms but another hero battle royal is going to happen. Arrow vs The Flash. Who will win? Let's look at our heroes:

More target practice? He doesn't need practice but
it's fun to watch him do so

        Oliver has gone through hell and a few crucibles. In other words he has plenty of experience in fighting and surviving making him not only agile, quick, and strong but street smart. He's killed a few but now he has self restraint and kills only if it's a last resort. He practically mentors Barry in being a hero but the question is can the mentor keep up with the mentee?

He's a nerd yes but has a lot of heart

        Barry is still very green but he has determination along with a true heart. When he gets knocked down he gets back up and would jump in front of a moving train for you. He's also a forensic scientist so you know he's definitely got the brains. Barry really looks up to Oliver but does he have the stones to knock the Arrow off a peg?

So fast he generates electricity!

        Barry's speed is definitely an advantage. He moves so fast that everything else slows down as if time is standing still but that has a disadvantage. Unless Barry has some telekinetic ability that can read minds he can't really predict where someone is going to go. His main advantage is the element of surprise but Oliver knows what to expect. Also Barry can be kind of cocky so he may trip up giving Oliver the high ground. 

He doesn't need arrows to kick you butt

        Oliver may be at a severe disadvantage at Barry's meta human powers but we know he can think on his feet. Oliver doesn't have to hit Barry with the arrow to knock him down. True that Barry could attack before Oliver even strung an arrow let alone let one loose but Oliver has faced stone cold killers and beat enemies that were hopped up on mega steroids with more than just his arrows. Oliver has the experience and street smarts that could really turn the whole fight around.

Barry still makes a mess but he's learning

        Barry's definitely the underdog. Just because he has super powers does not mean he's invincible. Hell it could come to a tie! But my money is on Oliver. I may be biased a little but I also know that Oliver has been in the game much longer than Barry. The Arrow now has the police of Starling City behind him rather than against him and Barry is still a little trouble maker to his city's boys in blue. We'll find out who comes on top tonight and tomorrow! Unfortunately I work Wednesday until 10pm but I have Hulu so I'll catch first thing Thursday morning. Enjoy this special cross over event!

His aim is as sharp as his ab muscles

Constantine: Reasons NBC Should Keep It

John Constantine is the new Burning Man

          I know everyone's panicking because NBC has halted production on Constantine, but don't fret. Halting production does not mean cancellation. It's more likely NBC wants to see if ratings will go up before they invest any more money into the project. Personally I don't think Constantine needs 22 episodes. It would cost less to do 13 episodes a season and this is a WB production so it ain't cheap. But the show's future is still up in the air. Here are reasons I think NBC should renew this edgy, dark show:

What a great looking cast!

1. The actors were very well chosen. Liv was a new character but I didn't feel she fit well. She was too "damsel in distress". I see her more as a guest star but then Angelica Celaya comes in as the psychic wonder with a dark past, Zed. This girl has bite but she has an empathy that allows her to connect with total strangers. Matt Ryan was an excellent choice for the lead. It's not just the resemblance to the character, he seems to have brought John Constantine to life with his dark humor, charisma, some self loathing and all around morose charm. With supporting characters like Charles Halford (Chas), Michael James Shaw (Papa Midnite), Harold Perrineau (Manny), and Emmett J. Scanlan (Jim Corrigan) the world of Hellblazer has been brought to the small screen successfully.

Manny's that annoying angel on John's shoulder

2. Ambiguity. You don't have a sense of black and white here. There's a total gray area. Just because Manny is an angel doesn't mean he has John's best intentions at heart. I feel like there's a deeper story there. As for Constantine himself? Well he's no knight in shining armor. He's not in it to save the world but he ends up doing so anyway. And people are still a bit hung up on whether or not the producers will make John bisexual or not but personally I don't really care. His sexuality means little to me but I suppose you can say that just falls in with the show's vague style. It's no fun to just figure out everyone's simple desire within an hour or even in 2 episodes. The beauty in ambiguity is it keeps you guessing long enough to hold your attention but not too much that you get confused and lose interest. 

"I respect everyone I sleep with." There he's bi; can we move on?

3. Every week something new. There's so much mythology to explore here. The Well of Ideas will never run dry. It's not exactly a creature feature like Supernatural or Grimm where each episode has a new creature or demon to defeat. The murder mysteries here are more human driven mayhem with just the Rising Darkness to give them more juice. 

I bet John has woken up in worse places

       4. Other than Grimm, Constantine is the only fantasy/horror show on NBC worth watching. The only other show I watch on there that doesn't have a ghost or creature in it is The Blacklist and that's because it's a psychological thriller which keeps you thoroughly entertained with deep, intriguing characters playing the spy game. Other than that NBC has too many crime procedurals that bore me to death. 

Smoke 'em if you got 'em

       5. The film Constantine was a HUGE let down. I read up on Hellblazer and thought: "What the hell? Why didn't they use this? This John Constantine seems far more captivating and dark than the one in the movie!" However, the TV series has been more faithful to the comic book series than most of the comic book to TV series I've seen and that includes Arrow and Smallville's Superman. Constantine holds true to it's edginess and provocative content. 

Creepy...I love it!

         I feel after the Pilot, the writers found their rhythm and each episode of Constantine gets better each week. Unfortunately because I work in retail I can't always be there to watch and tweet live when the show airs. So I ask other passionate Hellblazer and new Constantine fans to tweet double for me. TVTag helps and streaming the show on the network's website increases chances of renewal. Let's make this holiday extra special by getting Constantine a season 2 where I'm sure it can only get better and more compelling.

Is there any law or rule John hasn't broken yet?

Reign & TVD: Klaroline Deja Vu

 

It's like looking at a mirror

               Is it me or am I getting a Klaroline Dejá Vu feeling every time I watch Narcisse flirting with Lola? It can't be just me? Let's look at the similarities:

 

They both have that swagger

Klaus & Narcisse:

           1. Both Narcisse and Klaus have caused problems for our main heroes. They come off as villains in the story but we know there's more to their stories. Plus we can't take our eyes off of them and melt every time they speak in their sexy accents.

           2. Narcisse and Klaus have a hard time making friends. People fear them because anyone who crosses them ends up dead or worse. 

           3. Deep down they just want to be loved and when they find a girl like Lola and Caroline they're up for the challenge and end up finding their soul mate. 

 

Both are strong, beautiful women

Lola & Caroline:

           1. Both fierce friends that you want on your side.

           2. Lola and Caroline have gone through some tough events but have come out alright. Not unscathed but they're stronger for it. I know some people say Lola broke the girl code but think about it: If Francis had slept with any other girl and she had his son, that woman would have probably given Mary an extremely hard time. Lola and Mary are close enough that Lola would never seek to outshine her best friend.

            3. Feisty girls both of them. Though Caroline is more high strung prom queen and Lola more laid back and prefers to let others have the spot light, people tend to underestimate them. Soon Lola and Caroline realized they have a strength they never knew they had and when backed into a corner they fight back with amazing fire.

           4. Now in their new romances, Lola and Caroline find themselves intrigued and attracted to these trouble making bad boys. They're thinking and doing things they never thought they would be doing. They're confused about who's in the right. 

It won't be long until Narcisse & Lola have their
scandalous romp in the woods hopefully

            These two ships challenge each other in incredible ways that encourage spiritual and emotional growth on both sides of the relationship. Lola and Narcisse are hitting the same kind of road bumps that Klaus and Caroline had gone through but they found themselves together eventually and pretty soon Lola will find that she cares deeply about Narcisse; more than she thought she could. Also Narcisse will find that Lola's in his blood and he'll have a hard time quitting her. Let's just hope none of Narcisse's one night stands don't end up with those "You're the father" calls the next day. 

The 100: Welcome to the Dark Side, Finn

Someone take that thing away from him.
It's loaded and so is he!

                   Season 1 Finn was all about keeping the peace with the Grounders and tried to keep Clarke on the same page with him because he believed they shared the same vision of a better world. However, this last passing episode showed Finn at his darkest. 

Bellamy is so relieved! He has his princess back!

              Bellamy used to be the one ready to use violence but thanks to Clarke's influence he thinks before he acts and what consequences come with them. Now it seems Finn is the one who is acting without thinking. Finn is so hung up on Clarke that he didn't think about what she would think of him if she knew all of the terrible things he was willing to do to get her back. Hard to believe that while Finn was searching that village like a mad dog Murphey was the level headed one. He told Finn that this was just a village full of scavengers which turned out to be true but Finn was convinced that their people were there. Still Finn went all Rambo and shot up some innocent villagers, which makes peace between the Ark and the Grounders almost an impossibility. Working with the Grounders is the only way to get their friends out of Mount Weather but after this tragic mess the Grounders may just continue clashing with the Ark People. 

Yes! Look how happy Clarke is to see Bellamy!

          I think Finn loves Clarke so much that the thought of her dead drove him crazy. We do insane things for love but Finn has gone too far. The look on Clarke's face was one of horror at Finn's actions while Finn's face was full of relief. "I found you" Um more like Clarke found you and she doesn't look happy to see you, Finn. I'm okay with this. This just means Clarke will move closer to Bellamy who is becoming a perfect match for her emotionally and mentally. I mean did you see that hug when they reunited? No hugs for Finn at this bloody reunion.

Just slow your roll, Finn