Category Archives: Television

The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (3/2 – 3/9)

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This week in television started with Monday’s tense Castle episode, which moved the show’s mythology forward and showed immense character growth for Kate Beckett. Tuesday’s New Girl gave us the conclusion of Abby Day’s arc, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine featured a jealous Jake and introduced us to everyone’s favorite addicting app: Kwazy Cupcakes. On Wednesday, Nashville featured a shocking (or not so shocking) hookup and an equally shocking (or not so shocking) business proposal. Thursday’s episode of Parks and Recreation saw Leslie get some major recognition for her hard work and showed us Ron’s son for the first time. Thursday also featured the return of Suits, which tested Scottie and Harvey’s relationship already and forced Mike to confront new facts about his parents’ death.

This was a week filled with strong episodes and great performances, but no performance was greater than Stana Katic’s work in this week’s episode of Castle. Beckett’s fear, determination, and ferocity were on full display throughout the episode, and Katic made each emotion not only feel believable but palpable. In an episode filled with standout moments, her torture scene allowed her to run the gamut of emotions in such an impressive way. To know that she did all of these torture scenes herself just makes me admire Katic’s dedication even more.

TV Time: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland 1.09

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Fear not, fellow Once Upon a Time in Wonderland fans—the lovely Leah is back with her thoughts on the start of the second half of this season! 

OUAT-in-Wonderland-Nothing-to-Fear-09

Title Nothing to Fear

What Happened? Lizard finds Will’s magic bottle in the river and ends up using some of her wishes to try to gain Will’s attention and affection with devastating consequence. The Red Queen, Cyrus, and Alice team up in their efforts to find Will, but are sidetracked when unhappy constituents who want revenge kidnap the Red Queen. Meanwhile Jafar, now the ruler of the land, seeks out the dangerous Jabberwocky as a tool in finding the genie.

Favorite Lines “The throne is made when the man who sits on it is worthy. Where you sit Jafar, is nothing more than a large chair.” (The Sultan)

“I’ve tried, but word’s gotten out; working for you tends to shorten one’s life expectancy.” (The Caterpillar)

My Thoughts This was a fairly strong returning episode for Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, which was reassuring to see, as it suggests that the show will be able to keep up a high level of quality for its remaining four episodes. I feel like the show balanced each of the three different groups of characters well, cutting between them without making it feel like we were jumping all over the place and also not lingering too long on any one storyline.

We open the episode with Alice, Cyrus, and the Red Queen, who reluctantly team up together to try to find Will. I found it interesting that now that Will’s gone, Alice, who is normally the more optimistic and open-hearted of the group, plays the role of the cynic and constantly questions the Red Queen’s motivations. Cyrus, however, regards her with much more of an open mind. I don’t know if part of Alice’s mistrust is because she doesn’t remember the Red Queen’s confession of her love for Will, or if it’s merely that Alice will never completely trust the Red Queen after she was the one who Alice spent so long believing had killed Cyrus. Either way, I found the new dynamic interesting and a good way to endear us to Cyrus and give more depth to Alice. I’m really looking forward to seeing these three and Will work together over the rest of the season.

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TV Time: Parks and Recreation 6.15

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Let’s all welcome back our favorite beautiful tropical fish, Heather, who was kind enough to review this week’s episode of Parks and Recreation while I finished my latest Once Upon a Time essay!

parksandrect—the wall

Title The Wall

Two Sentence Summary Leslie encounters some problems with the Pawnee-Eagleton merger and receives an interesting job offer, while Tom finds an investor who believes in his ideas. Meanwhile, Ron volunteers to fix a floor of City Hall while his newborn son watches.

Favorite Line “You like fixing this town, Leslie, you always have. You know it’s an uphill battle, but you love the struggle. I would also add that you’ve already done a hell of a lot to make this town better, and people like this young man here will benefit from your hard work.” (Ron)

My Thoughts What a beautiful and hilarious episode. I cracked up at multiple points during the episode—not necessarily because the lines or reactions were so funny on their own, but because they were so perfect for the character. From Leslie’s response to Ron getting a fish to literally all of Ben’s reaction faces to Craig demanding that someone follow him because he was distraught, this episode used our knowledge and love of the characters to produce some genuinely funny moments, and I think that’s pretty good for a show in its sixth season.

It was also an episode of successes. We have been watching Tom bounce from idea to idea and increasingly become less satisfied with his job as a government employee. He has so much passion and energy, but it’s not always accompanied by sound business ideas. I actually really love the idea of him as a fundraiser, especially for something that he can be passionate about. My office’s goal is to raise money for a university, so I am surrounded by fundraisers and see a lot of similar qualities in him.

That being said, fundraising will never be Tom’s dream. He wants to see his business ventures succeed and to feel proud of what he’s done to make them succeed. I am thrilled to see someone recognize his passion and be willing to really invest in Tom as a person to make those dreams a reality. I wish he would recognize the value that Ben adds to business discussions a little more, but that’s partly my love for Ben speaking.

After a disappointing week trying to get people excited about the merger, Leslie received one of the biggest compliments of her career. She was told that her grant proposal was used as an example and praised for its thoroughness by the “bad boy” of the Department of the Interior, and she was offered a job with the National Parks Service. Though she ultimately decided to stay in Pawnee for now, I am so proud that it was offered to her.

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Love Is Strength: Once Upon a Time and the Truth About True Love

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Ginnifer-Goodwin-and-Josh-Dallas-Once-Upon-a-Time

True love isn’t easy, but it must be fought for. Because once you find it, it can never be replaced.

Once Upon a Time doesn’t play by the centuries-old rules of fairytale lore, and the show takes pride in that. Rumplestiltskin is also Belle’s Beast, Jack who climbs the beanstalk is actually a woman, and Snow White threatens the Evil Queen with a sword at her wedding ceremony. But perhaps the most important fairytale makeover this show has presented to audiences is the way it handles the concept of “true love.” The way true love is defined on Once Upon a Time—as an empowering force for good and something that requires effort and acceptance to achieve and maintain (and as something that doesn’t have to be romantic to be true)—should be one of the show’s enduring legacies.

The entire premise of Once Upon a Time is built around the idea of what happens after the “happily ever after.” What happened after Prince Charming woke Snow White from the queen’s sleeping curse? It turns out, a lot of things happened—even before their wedding—that tested and strengthened their love. On Once Upon a Time, true love isn’t something that is achieved and makes everything perfect in both your relationship and your life in general. True love requires teamwork. That’s what Snow and Charming are; they’re a team. They fight side-by-side for more than just their love; they fight for their kingdom. They don’t always agree, and their love isn’t a magical solution to all of their problems. But the support they give to one another is a defining part of their “true love.” Even when things are falling apart around them, they can rely on each other, knowing that the other has their back. True love doesn’t conquer all, but it gives you someone to take on life’s challenges beside you. And that’s a much more realistic story than one in which a prince and princess ride off into the sunset and never have any problems because they have true love.

The reason why Snow and Charming are able to both win so many battles and withstand so many losses is because they have someone who they know is by their side in both victory and defeat. Their true love is unconditional—it’s a love between two people who accept the other for who they really are, both the good and the bad. Charming and Snow met at a time when she was at her most cynical, and he still fell in love with her after she robbed him and hit him over the head with a rock. Even when Snow confessed her “darkened heart” to Charming in Season Two’s “Selfless, Brave, and True,” he didn’t judge her or stop loving her. Instead, he promised to help her believe in her own goodness again because that’s what true love is—it’s something that inspires both parties to be their best selves.

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Once Upon A Time in Wonderland: Where Did We Leave Off?

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Today at NGN we’re celebrating the return of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland with the return of the lovely Leah and her OUaTiW posts! 

I want to offer you all an apology for abandoning my Once Upon a Time in Wonderland recaps over the past few months. Some things in my life made it so that I was behind on watching the episodes, and then I got so behind I wasn’t able to catch up. I’m back now, though, and plan to be around for recaps through the end of this season.

To prepare for the show’s return, I thought I’d pick three plot points that I feel will have the biggest impact on the second half of Season One and discuss them!

1. The Red Queen Is Anastasia
Possibly the biggest surprise of this season thus far has been the reveal that the Anastasia who broke Will’s heart is also the Red Queen who has been working against Alice all along. It was revealed that Anastasia and Will were once happily in love, dreaming of making a life together even if they had to steal to survive. Their lives were changed when Will and Anastasia snuck into a royal ball, where Anastasia became enamored by the glamorous world of the royalty and nobles. They were both thrown out of the ball when discovered, but not before Anastasia spotted the crown jewels and had an encounter with the king, who was very curious about her. She decided to steal the jewels but was caught in the act by the king, who had a proposal for her: become his queen. She accepted, and when she was presented to the kingdom as the new queen, Will was in the crowd, betrayed and heartbroken.

As we learned at the end of the midseason finale (“Home”), Anastasia’s love for Will has been the motivation for everything she’s done during the season. She has been trying to capture Cyrus and his wishes so that she can use his power to break the laws of magic and somehow get Will back.

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TV Time: New Girl 3.18

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Title Sister III

Two-Sentence Summary Abby moving in with Schmidt causes Jess to push Nick into letting her officially move into his room, which proves to be stressful for both parties. Meanwhile, Cece tries to prove that Abby isn’t right for Schmidt, and Winston trains for his police academy fitness test.

Favorite Line “Coffee for one, a sundae for one, and your most tasteful, story-driven adult film. Preferably a period piece…Do you have anything in the Byzantine era?” (Jess)

Episode M.V.P. It’s been a while since I loved Zooey Deschanel as much as I loved her in this episode. Her exuberance in the hotel room was hilarious, while still being strangely believable. Haven’t we all felt that way after being around someone (or even just people in general) for far too long? Jess may be an extrovert, but even us extroverts need some “me time.” And of course Jess’s “me time” would include singing Judy Garland songs, crying over tiny minibar bottles, and watching period-piece porn. (The fact that she was looking for Byzantine-era adult films and not stereotypical Regency romance made it even better.) I also thoroughly enjoyed Jess’s last scenes with both Abby and Nick. Deschanel and Linda Cardellini had great chemistry together, and I will always love her comedic chemistry with Jake Johnson. The deadpan way she told him to fix his hippie feet was absolutely perfect, and I can’t get enough of Jess’s quiet interjections whenever Nick says something ridiculous (like when he was trying to tell her about the pilgrims massacring each other).

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TV Time: Castle 6.17

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Castle 6.17

Title In the Belly of the Beast

Two-Sentence Summary Beckett is tasked with going undercover to infiltrate a drug ring, but things take a turn for the worse when the woman she’s pretending to be is revealed to be a contract killer. The situation grows even bleaker when an old foe is revealed to be the head of the operation that holds Beckett’s life in its hands.

Favorite Line “Dear Rick, I don’t know how much time I have even to write this letter. What I do know now is that I’m in this and the only way I’m gonna make it out alive is to see this through. I’m sure everyone is looking for me, and if they figure out I was here, CSU is gonna search this house. They’re gonna look for blood, and they will find it. Which will lead them to this letter. Babe, it’s your letter, and I hope you never have to read this and I can tell you all of these things in person. But if something happens and I don’t make it, I need you to know that our partnership, our relationship, is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. You’re an amazing man, and I love you with all of my heart. Always.” (Beckett’s letter to Castle)

My Thoughts It’s been a while since Beckett’s life was in immediate danger on Castle, so I’d almost forgotten just how horribly tense and emotionally gripping those kinds of episodes could be. This season has seen Castle in more life-or-death situations, and, while I liked the role reversals at the time, there’s nothing like a good “Beckett in danger” plot to remind me why the more dramatic Castle episodes are so often my favorites. I think it’s because these episodes allow Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic to shine. Fillion’s ability to portray the quiet desperation that comes from protectiveness and love is matched perfectly by Katic’s skills at showing controlled terror and fierce resolve.

The more dramatic episodes of Castle are often responsible for pushing the show’s mythology forward in major ways as well, which was certainly the case with “In the Belly of the Beast.” This episode rewarded you for paying attention—not just during the hour but during the last six seasons. It used the show’s history to make each plot twist resonate and to land each emotional blow with stunning force.

I liked that this episode began with a moment of domestic bliss because it helped build the tension while still setting up an important theme for this episode: Beckett is different than who she was when she first went back down the rabbit hole of her mother’s case. She’s happy. She has a man in her life who loves her, who has built a life with her. Yes, the “font” discussion was playfully sexy in a way we don’t see nearly enough with these two (but if I had my way, entire episodes would be spent watching them talk about fonts in heated whispers and no crimes would get solved ever). However, the scene did more than just give us that hilarious Fillion reaction to being abandoned just when he was starting to get hot and bothered. It reminded us that Beckett has something to lose now, but she also has something to draw strength from.

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The Best Thing I Saw on TV This Week (2/23 – 3/2)

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After the Sochi Olympics ended with their stirring closing ceremonies last Sunday, many television shows returned from their hiatuses to join shows that were still airing in competition with the Winter Games. Monday’s Castle gave much-needed depth to Beckett and Alexis’s developing relationship. Tuesday’s New Girl continued to explore the effects of Abby’s presence on Jess and the rest of the characters, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine featured revealing performance evaluations and a great look at Jake and Gina’s friendship. Nashville returned on Wednesday with some amazing musical performances. Thursday’s Parks and Recreation gave us competing anniversary gifts from Ben and Leslie, and Scandal was back with more twists and turns than ever.

There were some really great TV moments that aired this week—from Nashville‘s newest band playing their first gig at the Bluebird to the introduction of a much-needed romantic interest in Mellie’s life on Scandal. But the best of the best came from Parks and Rec. Leslie’s anniversary gift to Ben was perfect, but not even the gift could top Ben’s reaction to it. I’m not sure anything will ever be better than Adam Scott sitting on a replica Iron Throne.

What was the best thing you saw on TV this week?

TV Time: Parks and Recreation 6.14

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Parks-And-Recreation-Anniversaries

Title Anniversaries

Two-Sentence Summary Ben’s elaborate wedding anniversary plans fall apart when Leslie spends the day before their anniversary (the day of Ben’s big surprise) trying smooth over the Pawnee-Eagleton merger, so he spends a romantic day with Jerry/Larry instead. Meanwhile, April struggles with being Donna’s boss, and Ron tries his hand at his own version of Internet reviews.

Favorite Line “Dear frozen yogurt: You are the celery of the dessert world. Be ice cream or be nothing. Zero stars.” (Ron)

My Thoughts Every time Parks and Recreation goes on a brief hiatus, I survive  without it. But as soon as it returns, I wonder how I managed without its weekly dose of genuine laughter and positivity in my life. In terms of television shows that simply make me feel good when I watch them, nothing holds a candle to Parks and Rec. Some may argue that the show is losing steam as it gets older (and I will admit to being one of those people on occasion), but then an episode like “Anniversaries” reminds me of how much fun I can still have watching Parks and Rec.

If I were making of list of reasons why “Anniversaries” was such a strong episode, its use of Ben Wyatt would be at the top. I always love episodes that focus on all of Ben’s gloriously nerdy quirks, and this episode put them in the spotlight once again. I can’t adequately express how much I love the way Ben’s nerdy qualities feel real. Ben is passionate about the media he invests in—he cares about the new Star Wars sequel so much that he needs a massage to release the tension he carries around from thinking about it; he watched Enchanted multiple times simply because he enjoyed it. There’s something so endearing about Ben’s enthusiasm and the way Adam Scott plays it. It never becomes a caricature of nerdy people; it’s never about making fun of people like Ben. It’s one of the reasons Leslie loves him so much—he’s just as passionate about the things he enjoys as she is.

Ben’s storyline was also such a joy to watch because it was one of the few times a character on this show has been genuinely nice to Jerry for more than just a few minutes. (I just can’t call him Larry.) It may have been by default, but the fact that Ben let Jerry accompany him on all of his excursions was the kind of inclusive gesture I’d expect from Ben Wyatt. They seemed to have fun together, and it was such a nice change of pace to see Jerry having fun with another character besides his own family. I’ve said for a while that the insults towards Jerry were becoming a little too mean-spirited for my taste, and this storyline was a good remedy for that.

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No Longer a Lost Girl: Emma Swan and the Power of Choice

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Emma Swan

I didn’t ask for that! I don’t want it!

When Emma Swan spoke those words in Once Upon a Time’s Season-One episode “The Stranger,” she was talking about her role as the savior of all of the cursed inhabitants of Storybrooke. However, she could have been talking about most of the events in her life up through—and even following—that point. Emma is a character who has been defined by things that have happened to her; she is an active woman whose real curse is the way others have so often rendered her passive, stripping her of any ability to choose her own path. But if Emma’s tragedy is the lack of agency she has been afforded in the first 28 years of her life, her journey to her own happy ending is a journey to finally getting to choose what she wants that happy ending to be.

Even before she was born, Emma was a victim of circumstance. She was destined to be the savior because she was the product of Snow White and Prince Charming’s true love. And once she was born, her parents had to make a choice no parent should ever after to make: keep their daughter, knowing she would be cursed along with them, or send her into an unknown world without them because it gave her the best chance to become the savior she would one day need to be. It was an impossible choice, and Snow and Charming cannot be faulted for choosing the way they did. However, their good and loving intentions still meant that Emma grew up alone because of someone else’s choice. Rumplestiltskin chose to create the curse, Regina chose to cast it, and Snow and Charming chose to save Emma from it by sending her through the portal. The only one with no real choice in the matter was the one person who would be most affected by it—baby Emma.

Little did Snow and Charming know, though, that Emma didn’t have to grow up alone. Pinocchio was also sent through the portal, but he was tasked with a job too difficult for a small boy to handle: taking care of the savior. Like Snow and Charming, Pinocchio (who we later come to know as August) was faced with choices no person in his situation should have to face: struggle to take care of a baby when he himself was just a child or strike out on his own. It should come as no surprise to anyone that he chose the latter.

The story of Emma Swan’s formative years is a story of people choosing to leave her, including her first set of foster parents, who decided to send her back into the system when they started their own family. Emma grew up believing that she was abandoned by her parents and subsequently by anyone who ever came close to caring for her. She was powerless to stop people from leaving her behind, completely devoid of control over her own life. She was—in so many ways—a lost girl.

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