Wild Speculation #9: Beauty and the Beast (2012-2016) Season 1 Episode 10, Seeing Red

Warning: This post will contain spoilers for this episode, and any episodes that came before it.

I really liked the intro to this episode. It didn't explain the overarching plot, it just had a couple lines of dialogue from the last episode, with quiet, grim music, and that opening to this episode really appealed to me.

I confess I was minorly disappointed that the end of the last episode was misleading. By the time Evan gets to a place where he can see Cat, Vincent has vanished. Ah, well. Can't have the third character figure it out until late in the game. I mean, in Grimm, people had to nearly die before finding out— oh, wait. Evan has nearly died already.

I hope Evan figures it out before the season finale, but they might string it out that long. For me, the enjoyable part is less the Trying-To-Figure-It-Out phase, and more the let me help phase. I would like the superhero team-up of Vincent, JT, Cat, and Evan, simply because I like the character of Evan very much.

That caught me completely by surprise because I usually dislike the “arrogant player” characters in TV shows/movies, but I really like Evan.

I especially like how calm he was when tending to Cat. We find out how very much afraid he was, and he seems to be aware The Creature is possibly right over there, but instead of getting distracted, instead of freaking out, or even raising his voice— which would certainly be understandable— he had a quiet professionalism that I really liked.

Vincent's eyes reflecting in the dark in the later half of this episode? A cool effect. I really liked it! I also like Alex as a character. I look forward to seeing her in the next episode, since she was in the thumbnail, I'm assuming she has a role. Besides, the story with Vincent is far from over, since Cat challenged our Beast to figure out if he's still in love with Alex or not.

Here's the thing: I like Alex and Vincent together. I'd like them to get back together, have Cat and Evan go the other direction. I don't actually much care for Vincent and Cat being together as a couple. I would like Alex to become a permanent member of Team Beast (Thank you, Felicity Smoak). I don't think it will happen, in fact, I'm almost one hundred percent sure it won't... but that's what I would have most enjoyed. I would like to see Cat help Vincent because it's the right thing to do, because she feels strongly about it, because she cares about him... but not that way. Let the romance be found elsewhere. But this is a TV show called Beauty and the Beast, so I suppose we were doomed from the start to have Beauty and Beast fall in love, weren't we?

Wild Speculation #8: Beauty and the Beast (2012-2016) Season 1 Episode 9, Bridesmaid Up

Warning: This post will contain spoilers for this episode, and any episodes that came before it.

I really liked the tone of this one. It felt playful and intense all in one, and I loved the camera work when Cat ended up cornered by the other bridesmaids about who is this boyfriend you speak of?

I don't yet know what I think of Brooke and Cat's Dad. They had that episode a while back where she looked like a badguy, but then the Dad pointed out to Cat that her judgmental attitude might make her a good cop, but that it makes it very difficult to have a relationship with her...

At this point, I feel as though it would be too obvious for Brooke to end up being a villain. It feels like it would be too much of a saw that coming a mile away. And also, they've been putting so much effort into trying to represent love between very different ages as just as acceptable as any other kind, so to have her be out to get the Dad's money after all of that would make all of that representation work go out the window.

However, I will say that it would pack quite the punch if Good-Old-Dad is a form of antagonist. Perhaps the one who alerted Muirfield where Mom would be on a certain night ten years ago. All the effort on making you suspect the Now Wife could be red herring— and if it is, kudos to them!

I love how this episode ended, with Vincent so cornered by Evan. The headlights of the car lighting up Vincent, who's trying to curl around Cat's unconscious body so the humans won't see his face and claws— the need to save Cat so strong that he doesn't just run, even though in Beast form it's so hard to think. That moment when Evan leaps out of the car and Vincent just stands there? It was beautiful. So beautiful. I haven't felt that way about this TV show before, but that moment really called to me.

Hope there will be many more moments in the future!

Wild Speculation #7: Beauty and the Beast (2012-2016) Season 1 Episode 8, Trapped

Warning: This post will contain spoilers for this episode, and any episodes that came before it.

My first thought was this: So, wait, Vincent doesn't remember most of this kark?

When I settled in to this episode, I braced myself for a long and torturous episode (or entire season if I was unlucky) of Vincent and JT not telling Cat about her Mom because for some reason, heroes do that in movies and TV shows.

Imagine my surprise and delight when he told Cat immediately! A goodguy acting smart for once— it definitely stood out to me. If Vincent keeps it up, I may end up liking him yet!

I thought the kid singer was both hilarious and sad. The flickers of uncertainty once he realized his manager was out to kill him was the sad part. Life can be weird enough for kids growing up in that kind of environment without having the person they trust most trying to murder them for a book deal. Ouch. It makes me wonder what that character would grow up into... but I doubt he'll reappear in Beauty and the Beast again. Too bad. I'd be interested to see a story arc for him, maybe see if he could form a healthy friendship with Tess instead of this Kid-Hitting-on-Adult thing he was trying to do. I think having an adult not afraid to speak her mind and call him on his banthakark would be a healthy thing for him to experience routinely.

Now. Can I just say that the fact that our heroine's mother's name is Vanessa Chandler is... something, after watching Penny Dreadful?

Evan will figure it out. He will. Matter of time. I hope it's sooner than with Wu on Grimm. Much sooner.

One more wild speculation: the soldier who spent time chatting with Vincent, then was carried out foaming at the mouth? I think she's going to be an antagonist eventually.

Wild Speculation #6: Beauty and the Beast (2012-2016) Season 1 Episode 7, Out of Control

Warning: This post will contain spoilers for this episode, and any episodes that came before it.

When the question of is this a busy night for murders was replied to with just this and a gang hit in the Bowery, I was sure that was going to be important. Ah, well. Sometimes throwaway lines are just that.

My first guess with New Intern Peter was that he was from Muirfield, the moment he was introduced.

As far as my Assume-Everyone-Is-From-Muirfield behavior pattern, all I can say is I watched the TV show Dollhouse all the way through. I distrusted every character in that TV show except the one the badguy ended up being, and I didn't see it coming until the last possible second before the reveal. What. Yes.

Of course, Dollhouse made it difficult to watch Firefly, because every time Alan Tudyk was on screen, I was waiting for his character to kill somebody...

Back to Beauty and the Beast!

Turns out I was wrong about Peter, and I figured that out about 23 minutes in. Once Evan mentioned he was going to request the student roster, I started whispering at the screen, “Your intern did it!” And of course Evan had to mention he was going to return to the scene of the crime, though he didn't put it in quite those terms... poor Evan. Ouch.

Would Thrawn Have Been in Clone Wars? (I Don't Know)

Hi everyone, I am Star Wars Syl and this is the Remember Clone Captain Keeli blog.

This post contains potential spoilers for the novel Thrawn (2017) by Timothy Zahn, as well as information from the Untold Clone Wars panel from Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2015 regarding the unfinished Clone Wars seasons 7 & 8.

During the Untold Clone Wars panel from Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2015, the fans learned about some of the stories that would have been in Star Wars: The Clone Wars seasons seven and eight.

One of these ideas included a new, canon version of the Yuuzhan Vong. They would not have been what we are familiar with from the EU. As everything drawn from the EU into canon, there would have been changes (some major), but the designs were being worked on, and artwork of one of the ships was revealed.

The idea was that this was a scout ship sent ahead to have a look at the galaxy, to see if it was ready for invasion yet. They would decide there were too many Jedi, and choose to wait for another, better time.

The episode was supposed to have a mysterious, spooky, abducted by aliens feel that we haven't seen in Star Wars TV before, and I think it would have been a nice addition to the many genres represented in Clone Wars.

I confess that at the time, I was more interested in other story ideas that hadn't been fleshed out, so I didn't pay much attention to the Yuuzhan Vong story idea except to think, wow, that would have been interesting, I wonder what it would have been like.

That all changed with the new Thrawn novel.

Ahead there be spoilers, so if you don't want to see them, this is your final warning.

Thrawn has a conversation with Palpatine, and within it, the information is revealed that he met Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars era. They worked together and then parted ways, Anakin going home to tell Palpatine about the Chiss mastermind he'd encountered.

First of all: my mind shattered. I completely lost it. I was reading the story aloud to my Mom (another serious fan of Zahn's work) at the time, and I could not keep reading, I was so busy talking about what that could mean, and how epic it was for me as a fan to know that Anakin Skywalker (not Vader) knew Thrawn, and that Thrawn knew him.

And then I got to thinking about the unmade Clone Wars episodes, and remembered the intended Yuuzhan Vong story....

Suddenly things got even better. What if that meet up was not just Timothy Zahn being utterly awesome, but would actually have been portrayed on screen too? Would Thrawn have had an episode in Clone Wars to work side-by-side with Anakin Skywalker?

I have no solid answers to that, but I love the idea. I really hope it's true, and I very much hope that the unfinished Clone Wars episodes will be finished an arc at a time and released on Netflix as single-shot stories. That, or finish each arc as its own film, and release them in the summer, in between seasons of whatever will follow after Rebels is over.

Wild Speculation #5 Beauty and the Beast (2012-2016) Season 1 Episode 6, Worth

Warning: This post will contain spoilers for this episode, and any episodes that came before it.

I liked this new intro much better than the original one. Using audio clips from actual episodes to explain the story instead of having Vincent and Cat spell it out feels better to me.

When they walked in and saw multiples of the “same” painting (just a canvas covered in one solid color), my first guess was that there had been paintings beneath, and someone had just come through and covered them over with solid colors to destroy what was said in those original paintings. That, of course, ended up not being the case, but I really liked my theory while it lasted!

This episode deepened the Evan romance option. I think it's a pity Evan will be nothing more than a love story obstacle. I like the two of them together, which is something I did not expect.

Wild Speculation #4: Beauty and the Beast (2012-2016) Season 1 Episode 5, Saturn Returns

Warning: This post will contain spoilers for this episode, and any episodes that came before it.

Okay. In this episode we have the solid beginning of Enter Evan As Love Interest. On the one hand, I'm pleased I called it, but on the other... I'm not sure yet. I mean, we know where it has to end up as long as the show did not end up canceled. Beauty and Beast have to be together, or there is no point in calling it this. They'd have gone for another name.

Because of that, I'm having a hard time feeling very invested in this part of the story, because I know that it will end up working out at the last possible minute, and until then there will be a long, painful journey.

Then again, I'm not really into romance movies, so my perspective is very definitely biased.

I thought for sure that both JT and Vincent would decide to not attempt the dates. Actually, that's inaccurate. I was braced against JT getting within hearing distance of his potential date only to have her agree to go out with someone else/kiss the guy selling coffee. Was I the only one sure that was going to go badly? But that turned out okay, and Vincent actually started walking to Cat's apartment.

I kept waiting for him to change his mind... and he didn't. No, it didn't work out, but at least it wasn't his fault. Passing out cold on the sidewalk wasn't exactly something he could have predicted ahead of time. But hey— I'm glad he didn't chicken out! Difficult to be mad at him for fainting...