The Originals - "Sinners and Saints" - Review

Intro

Up to last week in terms of reviews now. Like, exactly a week.

SPOILER WARNING

The following review is for The Originals, Season 1, Episode 5: "Sinners and Saints." If you have not seen the episode, I recommend watching it before reading this review. I will spoil things.

The Originals - "Sinners and Saints" - Review

Characters:

• Elijah Mikaelson - Played by Daniel Gillies. Oldest of the surviving Mikaelsons. Original Vampire.
• Rebekah Mikaelson - Played by Claire Holt. Youngest of the surviving Mikaelsons. Original Vampire.
• Niklaus "Klaus" Mikaelson - Played by Joseph Morgan. Middle surviving Mikaelson. Original Hybrid.
• Marcel Gerard - Played by Charles Michael Davis. Ruler of New Orleans. Klaus' protege. Vampire.
• Davina Claire - Played by Danielle Campbell. Marcel's witch.
• Sophie Deveraux - Played by Daniella Pineda. Leader of the witches.
• Hayley Marshall - Played by Phoebe Tonkin. Werewolf. Carrying Klaus' child.
• Father Kieran - Played by Todd Stashwick. Human. Reverend of the church Davina lives in.
• Jane-Anne Deveraux - Played by Malaya Rivera Drew. Witch. Sophie's older sister. Deceased.
• Bastianna - Played by Shannon Eubanks. Witch. Deceased.
• Sean - Played by Matt Kabus. Human. Cami's twin brother. Father Keiran's nephew. Deceased.
• Monique Deveraux - Played by Yasmine Al-Bustami. Witch. Jane-Anne's daughter. Sophie's niece. Deceased.

Review:

Oh my, the exposition. Also, I got my wish. We got back story on Davina. It really wasn't what I was expecting, but it was cool nonetheless. It was interesting to get the story of what happened in New Orleans between the witches and the vampires from three different points of view. We as the viewers get the whole story, whereas the Mikaelsons and Hayley sort of have to piece it together. Although, it seems Elijah already did that.

I was surprised that the ban on magic was only eight months old. I'd been thinking it had lasted a lot longer, though it explained how Marcel ended up with Davina. Speaking of, Davina is less crazy than I'd thought she would be. I was kind of viewing her as a sort of Claudia from Interview With The Vampire rather than what she actually is. All that power didn't come to her naturally as well, which made me a bit more comfortable with her. I also like that her attachment to Marcel came because he saved her life.

I'm not sure what to think of the ritual or its aftermath. It's clear that Sophie thinks finishing the ritual will bring her niece back to life. It's clear Davina thinks she and the other girls will stay dead. I think the tie to the ancestral magic is an interesting concept. I also don't think the witches will loose their powers, just become incredibly weakened.

I thought the fight between Marcel and Klaus would have been fun to see play out. We got to see Klaus being a brat again for a bit there.

I liked that Elijah was able to connect to Davina more than anyone else. He's rather good at that, as we saw with his connection to Elena Gilbert. I think Elijah might have a thing for Hayley as well. It might even be mutual. I think I might be okay with that.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• Davina is still super creepy. Her blood being really powerful is interesting.
• I'm currently siding with Davina here.
• I like that Rebekah views Hayley as family, even if she doesn't show it in a way that makes sense to Hayley.
• Everyone saying "The Harvest" kept reminding me of Buffy.

Housekeeping

Gonna have to stop the reviews here, I'm afraid. I've got chores to complete and then babysitting my nephew. I might decide to do some more reviewing after Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. tonight, but don't get your hopes up. Ah well, at least I did three.

Love ya, Jessie

Once Upon a Time - Child of the Moon - Review

SPOILER WARNING and also a bit of profanity, because things made me angry...

Once Upon a Time - "Child of the Moon" - Review

I am firmly of the belief that if the fairy tale villians would just stop trying to get revenge, they'd be a lot happier. Take King George, for instance. Had he not been a complete asshole to James/Charming after the marriage to Abigail fell through (and a bit before that) he would currently have an adopted son, daughter in-law, granddaughter, and great grandson. He might even have gotten on splendidly with Charming's mother. But instead, he decided to be an asshole bent on ruining the life of someone who essentially did nothing to him. It's not Charming's fault George's wife died/was barren. It's not Charming's fault James was murdered. It's not really Charming's fault Abigail was in love with someone else. I'll grant that it's Charming's fault Abigail didn't marry him, but that shouldn't have resulted in a beheading and rescue by Regina! The only thing Charming did after that was take back the kingdom with Snow. And we're not even sure if that was Regina's kingdom or George's kingdom!

But anyway... I really enjoyed this episode. Ruby/Red has always been one of my favorite characters and it was great to see an episode all about her. I'm not so fond of the younger Red, but she was okay. The CG wolves were the best I've seen on TV, despite being crap when you look at other CG examples. I was okay with Red's mother until she turned on Snow. I'm kinda glad she's dead, though they could have done something more with her. I liked Gus for all of the short amount of time we got to see him for. Gus was my favorite of Cinderella's mice friends in the movie.

Other important plot bit time! Henry and Aurora's dream thingy. I find it interesting that Henry got burned but Aurora doesn't seem to be injured by the dream. I also find it suspicious that Rumple is taking the price for Henry's little amulet/potion necklace. What's so special about Henry that Rumple's willing to do that? Maybe Henry reminds him of Balefire or something...

Anyway, awesome episode. Lots of stuff to chew on and mull over until next week.

Love ya, Jessie.

Werewolves Abound - repost

Originally Posted: October 8, 2011

Today... I pretty much wanted to die. I say this because my head feels like it's going to explode. And most of the pressure is on the bridge of my nose -- exactly where my glasses sit. Yay. But anyway... werewolves.

I watched An American Werewolf In London with my mom today. It was... interesting. Here are my initial reactions:

• The preppy dead couple were creepy. Not because they were covered in blood, but because they were so... happy about their deadness. It was weird.
• I'm totally more of a vampire person.
• The end was funny. Let's show the body of the dead guy and then cut to black with a peppy song. Much better than some ending where the nurse can't get over what happened.
• Was there an actual point to the murderous mutant commandoes from David's dream?

So yeah... I was kinda bored watching the movie and I'm glad I'm sick because I wouldn't have sat through this classic if I had been able to hold my head up sufficiently.

Because this movie had a fairly well realized werewolf for the time, I thought I'd list some of my favorites:

• The Twilight Saga - They're not actual werewolves, but they're awesome in their wolfishness.
• Van Helsing - You know, the one with Hugh Jackman. These wolves are properly furry, even if they're rubbish on four legs.
• An American Werewolf In London - Probably won't watch this again, but at least the wolf didn't look like a naked mole rat.

And my least favorites:

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Remus Lupin's transformed state looks like a long-limbed naked mole rat. It's apparently quite easy to tell a werewolf from a real wolf in that universe.
• Underworld - Again with the naked mole-rat syndrome. I understand they wanted something they could have a person run around in. However, the wolves they've got running around the apartment complex do NOT match what they've later got - clearly a man in a rubber suit that looks like a black naked mole rat.
• Buffy: The Vampire Slayer - They look like people in Gorilla suits for the most part. I think there's one of them who's actually wolf-like in the face, but the rest of them are absolute pants.

Love ya, Jessie.

Werewolves Abound

Today... I pretty much wanted to die. I say this because my head feels like it's going to explode. And most of the pressure is on the bridge of my nose -- exactly where my glasses sit. Yay. But anyway... werewolves.

I watched An American Werewolf In London with my mom today. It was... interesting. Here are my initial reactions:

• The preppy dead couple were creepy. Not because they were covered in blood, but because they were so... happy about their deadness. It was weird.
• I'm totally more of a vampire person.
• The end was funny. Let's show the body of the dead guy and then cut to black with a peppy song. Much better than some ending where the nurse can't get over what happened.
• Was there an actual point to the murderous mutant commandoes from David's dream?

So yeah... I was kinda bored watching the movie and I'm glad I'm sick because I wouldn't have sat through this classic if I had been able to hold my head up sufficiently.

Because this movie had a fairly well realized werewolf for the time, I thought I'd list some of my favorites:

• The Twilight Saga - They're not actual werewolves, but they're awesome in their wolfishness.
• Van Helsing - You know, the one with Hugh Jackman. These wolves are properly furry, even if they're rubbish on four legs.
• An American Werewolf In London - Probably won't watch this again, but at least the wolf didn't look like a naked mole rat.

And my least favorites:

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Remus Lupin's transformed state looks like a long-limbed naked mole rat. It's apparently quite easy to tell a werewolf from a real wolf in that universe.
• Underworld - Again with the naked mole-rat syndrome. I understand they wanted something they could have a person run around in. However, the wolves they've got running around the apartment complex do NOT match what they've later got - clearly a man in a rubber suit that looks like a black naked mole rat.
• Buffy: The Vampire Slayer - They look like people in Gorilla suits for the most part. I think there's one of them who's actually wolf-like in the face, but the rest of them are absolute pants.

Love ya, Jessie.

PS: There's a new avatar in my Gaiaonline Journal. It's in Companion Avis 4.