A Man. And His Blog.

Another filler episode. Another episode without the series arc. Another episode with uninteresting storylines, and too much focus on Chloe’s (Skyler Samuels) relationships. A forgettable episode. And somehow even a ridiculous episode after last episode’s events.

So, Chloe and Meredith (Amy Pietz) are not talking about the missing dad anymore? They don’t talk about the fact that he’s still alive? Meredith doesn’t look if she has gotten a new e-mail? Seriously, I hate those kind of inconsistencies. I hate it, when the writers don’t give me anything from the main story arc about the main characters, but don’t stop to develop the greater threat of the characters, starting with Whitley (David S. Lee), ending with him wanting to kill everybody around the Uniter, yet still not knowing that the girl his son is dating (or was dating), is the Uniter. And this just because his bedtime candy Simone (Jolene Andersen) is hiding the all important picture from him, which is unreasonable as well. Just because his son is dating the Uniter (or was dating), Simone is keeping that information from him? Just a lazy way of getting some thrill into the story, as well as keeping Brian (Grey Damon) alive in the show, because he has his own storyline, hunting down his mother and grandmother.

I didn’t know Frank (Cristián de la Fuente) had a daughter, and I didn’t expect the writers were bringing her in for an episode stint. But of course the writers chose to do so, and give her a crappy storyline as well. When Vanessa (Denyse Tontz) was starting to talk to Chloe about Cody (Richard Tanne), I was already rolling my eyes, because I knew it would be the main focus of the story, and when I heard he was 27, I knew something fucked-up would happen. But at the end I can only say I’m surprised about ABC Family having a show about human trafficking. Who would have known that would happen five years ago, on this channel. Then again, the story wasn’t to my liking, and that Chloe and Alek (Benjamin Stone) were battling it out in the night-time again was just laughable. Though the fight sequences are becoming better, the whole fights in the dark are becoming a running gag in this show.

The whole relationship trouble was horrible again. I don’t like it, and I don’t like how the writers dance around Brian and Alek so much. Their little fist fight in the store was horrendously stupid, and the behavior of the guys is pretty much stupid as well. And can someone tell Chloe that there are two guys fighting for her? I don’t even know she gets that information out of her threesome… But hey, at least Jasmine (Alyssa Diaz) got some action in this episode, though the twist with Zane (Daniel Sharman) being one of the bad guys was predictable as well. 5.5/10

Is this how Chloe looks at her nude pics?

Catwoman is on her way to rescue this sad little girl

Average episode. The stories were trash, and I blame the writers for stalling any- and everything. It would have been the perfect episode for Chloe (Skyler Samuels) to tell Meredith (Amy Pietz) the truth, but she didn’t. Instead she only learned about the connection between Chloe and her father, and there was the discussion, whether Chloe and Alek (Benjamin Stone) are ready to be a couple.

And there wasn’t much else. The story with the two criminals and the dirty cop was completely forgettable and the pure definition of a stand-alone story. I don’t even know what it will deliver for the characters, if it actually will deliver something. I mean, where was no talk about the Mai business, the writers didn’t even think about letting Chloe tell her mother the truth, and the Alek/Chloe relationship got to a halt as well, with Brian (Grey Damon) hating her too, so that Chloe can say that her love life is over. I really cringed, when she said it out loud, since it was such a big cliché. And it showed what problems the show still has: It focuses too much on the love lives of the characters, the three-way between Chloe, Alek and Brian, and never settles on the mystery plot, hasn’t even developed a proper mythology yet. No wonder why the series has weak ratings and has to fear not to be renewed after ten episodes (meaning: I hope TV writers learn from this show’s mistakes).

So, what’s it all about the relationships? At this stage of the show, I really don’t care about Alek anymore, because of his back-and-forth in his way of behaving. First he’s the guy, who cares about Chloe and almost dies for her, but back in school he’s completely in another body, flirting with other girls. I don’t know what to make of him, and I don’t know if the writers write him on purpose so difficult, but at the end it makes him unlikable, and viewers like me don’t want him to get together with Chloe. Same thing goes with Brian, who (of course) had to witness the kiss between Chloe and Alek, though there was no sign of him in last episode’s ending. Of course he has troubles with it, but since he had his own story about uncovering his past, there wasn’t put much weight into his state of mind. At least he got some sort of a mystery for his storyline, though he doesn’t know yet. But I hate those lazy cliffhanger cop-outs. The scene, when he came out of the storage unit, and the guy behind the screen called to say that “he’s here” is just… waah, I hate those secrecy moments. TV could do without them, clearly.

Actually, the episode was worse than just average. Since it delivered absolutely noting to the main arc, it should be considered bad. But somehow I’m still interested in the show, and somehow I still believe the writers want something to do with the main plot. 5/10

Hidden in some unobtrusive car

Hidden in some dark wardrobe

It was a solid episode, but not without plot holes and implausible character actions. Where the writers asking themselves, what the jackals wanted in San Francisco, or was it just the Mai who never thought of the question, which came to me, after Chloe (Skyler Samuels) found out that the jackals are the Mai’s enemies?

I don’t know whether to count it as a plot hole, or just stupid character development. Or is it the perfect example of the writers not wanting to ask questions, because it contradicts with their plans of a story? For anybody who wants to tell me to enjoy this show as a TV show and forget about those mistakes… I can’t. When I recognize silly writing, my enjoyment for an episode went down to a minimum point, and I’m always thinking about the reason why writers just neglect those kinds of questions or stories. But hey, didn’t I just say the episode was solid?

Kai (Colton Haynes) was an interesting character. I wonder when he was turning into a werewolf after – wait, wrong show. Though I was thinking at first that this episode could have been a tiny crossover with TEEN WOLF. I hope Colton Haynes has learned how to be evil and fight against protagonists in his one tiny fight at the beginning. I just don’t know how Alek (Benjamin Stone) and Jasmine (Alyssa Diaz) knew that Kai was a jackal, figuring that Kai was on the trip to get Chloe only into a trap, and how Chloe wasn’t able to emphasize the bad side of Kai. Furthermore, I didn’t really like that the writers kinda went to a romance story with Kai for a couple of seconds, when Amy (Grace Phipps) was probably considering hot and steamy sex, while they were in the closet. Likewise with Chloe, who probably considered to think about a relationship with a jackal as well, just so she can get over Brian. But thankfully this story was just totally minor, and it was all about returning Kai home to his family (and here again: no one questioned why Kai was separated from his family in the first place, and what was actually terrifying him?).

But then: another fight sequence in the dark. All bets are off for guessing, in which episode we have our next fight in broad daylight. At least the fights are better choreographed this time. The cast and crew has learned something over the past seven episodes. And I’m still kinda surprised that there’s blood in the series, and violence, and action, and somewhat torture. Who would have thought that after KYLE XY turned out to be a sucker?

The side plot with Meredith (Amy Pietz) dating Frank (Cristián de la Fuente) was lame. I hated the contrast between her mother’s super-duper love life, while Chloe’s love life is pretty much fucked. And I’m waiting for the twist, where Frank is revealed to be the enemy. Dating Chloe’s mom to get closer to Chloe and kill her multiple times. Well, the midseason finale isn’t far, so I hope the twist comes soon. Or never, but then I want a proper story involving Meredith. It can’t just be about finding her luck again, after Chloe’s father disappeared from the edge of the world.

And what is with Alek? Has he finally realized he belongs to Chloe? Sorry, but that was silly. And expected. The series should stop with all the romances and get to the mythology, because it’s getting old. It seems like the Uniter has more troubles with her boys than actual uniting her race with… whatever a Uniter normally does. 7/10

Homeless guys on a family channel

There's even blood in a show o a family channel

It was a solid episode. Even though the show still annoys me with its relationship crap, and the fact that the writers focus too much on Chloe (Skyler Samuels), somehow the show is fun to watch. The story is not developing, but as against TEEN WOLF, this show manages not to be so cheesy in its genre, and I almost don’t find those ridiculous directing mistakes and plot holes at all. Okay, they are clearly there, but the episodes look much better, when they are invisible.

The stories weren’t really exciting though. The thing between Chloe and Brian (Grey Damon) is getting annoying, after everybody seems to believe they are dating, even though Brian doesn’t get any action. I wonder if he notices that after a handful of episodes, he hasn’t kissed her yet, and that there is the discussion, if they are a couple or not. I wonder if he ever sees in Chloe more than just a friend, and maybe even as a real girlfriend. The last scene finally answered my questions and all, but that doesn’t make the time before that scene more logical. In addition, I was kinda expecting that their relationship is developing into a different path. Now that the two were at the art gallery, and Chloe was about to meet her enemies, I would have thought she learned something about either her enemies or Brian.

And there we have the big problem of the episode: the art gallery. Chloe was there, Whitley (David S. Lee) was there, but nobody noticed the other. Okay, Chloe was suspicious about Simone (Jolene Andersen), but when I think about the little scene with Chloe and Whitley side by side, I’m just laughing my ass off. How is it possible that the writers didn’t realize the potential in that story? Protagonist and antagonist finally side by side, the chance of a really big conflict. It reminded me of the DARK ANGEL episode with Max and Lydecker in the auditorium, sitting side by side, but nothing happened. It’s the same here: big potential completely wasted. And that’s how the writers spent their first scene with those two characters… I’m disappointed.

The whole date stories were boring. Beginning with Meredith (Amy Pietz) and Frank (Cristián de la Fuente), going over to Amy (Grace Phipps) and her senior Jonah (Bryan Craig), ending with Alek (Benjamin Stone) and Mimi (Jess Adams), the new Mai in town. Is this a supernatural-themed show or a romantic get-together? At least Amy got a story out of it, even though I totally didn’t like how Jonah was the “bad” guy at the end. There was another laughing moment, when it was revealed he cheats in poker, but as long as it brought Amy and Paul (Ki Hong Lee) back together, I’ll take it. Especially after it ended the kinda ridiculous story of Amy and Paul broken up, just because he couldn’t keep his pants up.

Another laughing moment: Whitley said “The girl will be dead at the first opportunity.” When I remember correctly, Whitley and his guys had a lot of first opportunities already. I think the writers should stop making fools out of themselves in their script. Because I don’t think that little piece of dialog was on purpose… 6/10

Those two are not dating - yet

This dude's fucked

The episode was alright. It didn’t have any suspense, the stories weren’t entertaining that much, and Lilah (Floriana Lima) and Nikki (Melanie Kannokada) were pretty much lame-ass first-good-than-evil Mais, but I like how the back story is turning out to be more against Chloe (Skyler Samuels). Now that Brian (Grey Damon) is working for his father (David S. Lee), I wonder when he comes to know about the real business, and eventually is against Chloe. Or if Brian is becoming the nemesis of his own father, when he learns the truth…

The story was actually okay. It was a good idea to have some more Mai in the show and let them interact with Chloe – after all, there can’t just be four Mais in San Francisco, when the episode was suggesting that there’s a whole clan in Sao Paolo. Lilah and Nikki were just boring characters, and I so smelled from the get-go that the two would be trouble. It shows that some Mai are not on the side of law and instead go right along with order (which could be a nice ongoing storyline, if recognized by the writers), killing people, not having respect to humanity. I really hope the writers actually know what an interesting storyline they have here. But since the series airs on a family channel, I don’t really know it’s ever going to happen like I wish.

At the end, both Lilah and Nikki were over the top. Sent by their clan to get Chloe back to Sao Paolo, and only the small-time San Fransisco connection can prevent them from doing so. I found it a bit ridiculous that the girls wanted to kill Chloe though. Yeah, they needed proof they really have the uniter in front of them, but that just showed me those two Mai were especially stupid and not ready to be united. Well… Their problems. I was curious about one thing though. When Jasmine (Alyssa Diaz) said that every Mai clan controlling the uniter would control the Mai’s fate, and Chloe responded with “No one controls me” – did Chloe think about Valentina here? Or Jasmine? I mean, they kinda control her. Even though they say that Chloe is under their protection, I don’t really know if that also means she is under their control. So, here’s another story hidden: What is Chloe going to do, when she realizes that Valentina and Jasmine start to control her for their own good?

Amy’s (Grace Phipps) and Paul’s (Ki Hong Lee) romance story was forgettable though. I don’t mind when the supporting characters get a storyline, but it could be more interesting. And thanks for Paul letting me realize that men think about sex all the time, even in good times. Only Brian’s story was interesting, but only because I think he’s going to be bad-ass in a couple of seasons. If this show would be a real premium cable drama a la THE SHIELD with human kittens. 6/10

This was not a quickie abandoned

This is not a threesome interrupted

Okay, it was a solid episode, but I have the feeling the writers making the same mistake like the TEEN WOLF writers do at the moment: They don’t want to develop the story, because they don’t want to speed up the story until the season finale. And I seriously have a problem with this, since it makes the whole middle part of a series pretty much forgettable. Like in this episode: Chloe (Skyler Samuels) does not have to fight against her real enemies and instead just saves the life of her friend and boss – if this isn’t the definition of an episodic arc, then I’m a gay pope.

But at least the stories were kinda interesting. It’s nice to see that the writers continue to focus on the emotional sides of it all, and don’t stop to deliver friendship-themed storylines, as well as family-themed. I loved that Amy (Grace Phipps, thankfully she’s not that annoying anymore, like in the pilot) saw something “bad” in Chloe not being her best friend anymore, and I very much loved the scene, when Chloe was telling this to Amy, making her understand her situation more. Which literally is Chloe being hunted by various enemies, who want her dead. I just didn’t really like Paul’s (Ki Hong Lee) point of view here: He wants to be the sidekick (or he rather doesn’t want to be – somehow I didn’t get what he really wanted), but at the end he’s just the guy for Amy (whose relationship I still don’t buy – how about a few make-out sessions?), just a friend for Chloe, and basically just an unimportant character for the series. Development is needed to make him more interesting, or he remains to be the comic relief for the show, who is actually not funny.

The conflict between Lana (Aeriel Miranda) and her ex Jesse (Ryan Sypek) was partly interesting. I liked how it played out for Chloe and how she sees herself as a killer bride, who is able to just snap some necks. The little conversation between Valentina (Alicia Coppola) and Chloe was nice, with Valentina saying that she has to reduce her contact with humans – unfortunately it didn’t bring anything at the end, because Chloe wasn’t listening and still fighting for Lana’s life. But yeah, the fight was ridiculous. First I can’t understand why nobody in Lana’s life (or maybe even Jesse – but he is missing his background story) realized that Jesse is angry meat, and I really don’t understand why he went to killer mode in Lana’s apartment. Like I said, a whole ton of background story is missing, which makes the plot look like an unimportant episodic arc. Which it was at the end, and which makes it look even more ridiculous. Can I expect some development in the working relationship between Lana and Chloe after these events? If there’s nothing coming, I will trash this episode in my memory, and it makes the season look bad retrospectively.

The side plots were good too. I was very surprised that Whitley (David S. Lee) is in the center of all attention with this episode, and that he even has contact with Valentina. This episode establishes him as a real enemy to the Mai (and not just Chloe), and I love that it can result to a really exciting conflict between his group and the Mai. And even more: It brings Valentina into the mix. Now she’s not just a mother and a Mai leader, but she actually has an agenda, and isn’t scared to kill a human to save the Mai… 6.5/10

This girlfriend is about to cry

This bad guy is out cold

Well, at least this episode was better than the last one. I don’t know why, and maybe it’s just because of the demise of Scarface, but the episode worked better because of its story, despite other arcs completely missing. I’m still disappointed about the show in general, since it wasn’t able to pick up the quality of the pilot.

The story was actually alright. The Rogue (Kiko Ellsworth) was still hunting down Chloe (Skyler Samuels), and used her fear of losing her friends and family. Kinda a nice plot, it just didn’t play out as I hoped. Still I asked myself why Rogue wasn’t able to just shoot the hell out of Chloe, or kidnapped her earlier to sink her into a pool. Yeah, letting Chloe drown over and over was a neat idea, but why two episodes too late? If you want to kill the leader of an ancient race (which, by the way, still needs a whole lot of explanations – after all I don’t even know why the hunters want to kill the Mai), you better be strong about it and don’t wait around and follow the one you want to kill. Only psychopaths do this, and I don’t really believe Rogue was a psycho. Unfortunately, the whole confrontation between Chloe and Rogue was lame. She makes jokes about the fight, he isn’t able to simply fight her (I blame the network for that), and at the end Chloe is rescued, because Alek (Benjamin Stone) and Jasmine (Alyssa Diaz) were nearby? Yeah, it was kinda a fake-out. In addition, I can’t even understand why Brian (Grey Damon) is just sitting in the car, waiting, not asking questions. Nothing against a relationship story in the series, but a bit more realism wouldn’t hurt – otherwise the romance plot becomes sugar-y and more than ridiculous.

Introducing Valentina (Alicia Coppola) was a nice way of trying to get more into the arc about the Mai. There are still a lot of questions to be answered, but it doesn’t help to show the Mai all friendly and stuff, while their hunters are all evil and stuff. There is a mythological storyline, with potential of including some supernatural stuff, but after three episodes, the only supernatural stuff is Chloe and her nine lives (well, eight now). I really would wish the writers would go into that topic without waiting half a season, or even the complete season. It’s just lame storytelling. But maybe the writers are ready to introduce some new storylines with Valentina. After all, she killed Rogue.

I kinda liked Amy’s (Grace Phipps) plot though. It’s nice that the writers focus on Chloe’s friends, without pushing them into her story. I just didn’t like that the story of Amy having a gig seems like stolen from PARENTHOOD (but only because I still vividly remember Amber singing). And even more, her relationship with Paul (Ki Hong Lee) doesn’t seem to develop. They are a couple, but I don’t see any of it, they don’t even have the proper chemistry. Furthermore, I hate the fact that Paul looks like the comic relief in the show. TEEN WOLF’s Stiles and Paul could be best friends…

I have one big problem though: Has everybody forgotten Xavier by now? He was included in the “Previously on” part, but his name, even the story with him, wasn’t even mentioned again. Chloe felt remorse last episode because of it, and now she’s happily back in the dating game again? Yeah, sure… 5.5/10

Introducing: a new singer/songwriter

Introducing: a woman who just killed a guy

Yes, the pilot was good. Yes, the story is intriguing. Yes, I’d expected for the mythology not to be thoroughly develop in the second episode. Yes, I’d even expected for the second episode to be weaker than the pilot. But I haven’t expected such a drop. I didn’t like this episode at all. And I don’t really know what the problem was.

Maybe because I realized this is not going to be a full-blown serial, like I hoped it would be, or maybe the writers don’t take advantage of the story, since the series airs on a cable network with the word “family” in the title. The Rogue (Kiko Ellsworth) was asked to kill Chloe (Skyler Samuels) asap and as many times as possible. And what is he doing? Lurking after her, watching her, not making a move. If this show would air on FOX, Rogue would have flashed a gun and shot Chloe eight times already. I don’t really know if I can buy this whole thing now, when a villain’s mission is to kill the girl, but he doesn’t do it. Okay, there might be a bigger story behind it all, but the writers haven’t even teased that one. So, I was pretty much annoyed seeing Rogue everywhere, doing nothing.

The story of the episode was unsatisfying as well. Nothing against Chloe’s guilt of having killed Xavier (and I still don’t believe it was entirely her fault), but introducing his brother Gabriel (Alberto De Diego), his drug-addicted past, his dealing, and his clash with the sellers was just painfully weak and boring on any kind of levels. Riddled with a ton of clichés, ending with a not-so-satisfying scene. Yes, now I know that Chloe can see in the dark too, but why establishing this ability during a deadly confrontation? And why did I know that no shot will be fired in this scene. Yeah, the writers really have to learn how to make this show unpredictable on a cable network like ABC Family. I know it’s difficult to do, but it doesn’t help, when the writers give me one predictable scene after another.

The rest of the episode was okay. The flirtations between Brian (Grey Damon) and Chloe was a bit annoying, since it was way too romantic for my taste; and Alek’s (Benjamin Stone) protecting instincts were kinda horrifying too. So, he lurks after Chloe too, and doesn’t have the guts to tell her the truth about everything. That’s not just story-stalling and waiting to get the answers out, that’s killing the audience too. Writers should finally stop with keeping secrets for themselves… 4/10

Who's more aggressive in this screencap?

There are guns in an ABC Family series

Pilot episodes are a difficult thing to do. Whether it’s writing or producing, there will always be mistakes made, which make the hour of entertainment an hour of identifying the mistakes and finding out why they are done. I’m still not behind the pilot of SWITCHED AT BIRTH, which neglected to introduce the characters and instead chose to deliver amounts of storylines, which couldn’t help the episode to connect with the viewers, which couldn’t manage to show the emotional side of the characters and make the parents and daughters believable within a degree of realism. I think I will take a few more weeks to find out why SWITCHED AT BIRTH completely failed with me, and why it should be said that pilots are not made to throw the audience into cold water, instead to slowly guide them into a new world. Now THE NINE LIVES OF CHLOE KING came around the corner – a light teen-mystery show; kind of CATWOMAN, but so without being in the BATMAN universe; kind of the girly update of KYLE XY; kind of a statement from ABC Family; kind of everything at once. And most importantly: It was a good pilot. It didn’t throw the audience into cold water, instead it guided the viewers into a new world. Just look at the first 30 minutes of this pilot, and compare it with SWITCHED AT BIRTH, THE CAPE and NO ORDINARY FAMILY. So, what was done right here, where the other mentioned pilots failed? Read the rest of this entry »