A Good Cringe

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BATB, I JUST LOVE WRITING ABOUT IT.



DISCLAIMER #2: ALL IMAGES ARE OWNED BY THE CW.A Good Cringe




WriterFreak001Before watching Beauty and the Beast "Liar, Liar," I was a little worried about the episode. Being a HUGE VinCat shipper, I cringe as Vincent (Jay Ryan) and Catherine (Kristin Kreuk) slowly drift apart. However, after seeing the episode several times after its airing, I can definitely say the CW outdid themselves once again!



Before you get any presumptions about my cringing habits, let me clarify a few things first:



This cringe is a GOOD cringe! Well, the feeling isn't good but the fact that I am cringing, is well, it's good! Okay, so that didn't really make sense, did it? What I mean is: the fact that BATB is making me feel a strong emotion at all is quite an accomplishment. Growing up, I have always watched a lot of TV (more than I probably should have) and when couples from TV shows fall apart or when something dramatic happens like a main character death, I normally could care less. To me, all of the OTHER shows are just well just shows. But, for some reason, I connect to Beauty and the Beast. The cringing feeling definitely does NOT drive me away from the series. In fact, it makes me want to see more! I want to know if Vincent and Catherine can overcome this major bump in their relationship. Obviously they will because, well, in case you've forgotten, ahem, the show IS called "Beauty and the Beast." ^^ So, the fact that Catherine and Vincent will come back together is a damn giveaway but it isn't the result that lures me to the plot. It's the sequence of events.HOW will Vincent and Catherine get back together? WHEN will they get back together? WHAT does Vincent do in order to win Catherine's heart back? WHAT does Catherine do to force Vincent to gravel on his knees (metaphorically speaking, of course though, I wouldn't mind seeing Vincent working his ass of to win her heart back he obviously didn't do enough of that in season one after the dark episodes with Alex (Bridget Regan).



Anyway, before I get too much off on a tangent, I would like to redirect your focus to the most recent episode, "Liar, Liar." The first scene between Catherine and Heather (Nicole Gale Anderson) was in a way, touching, but also relieving. Heather is thinking about moving away(Nicole Gale Anderson has a new gig with ABC's Ravenwood) and Catherine finds this new information completely shocking. Aside from a mysterious sperm-donor, Heather is all Catherine has left in her family.



So, of course, Catherine wouldn't take Heather's *first* news as a surprise-especially since their 'father' had just died. I'm glad this scene was the first of many Cat/Heather scenes of the episode. We obviously haven't seen that in a while .



BEST HEATHER LINE: "Yeah . People are going to think you have an abusive boyfriend."



After a little bit of sisterly love, we have some bromance time between Vincent and JT (Austin Basis). I, for one, was actually surprised there even was a Vincent & JT scene-especially because Vincent and JT aren't living together anymore. However, despite my shock, I was thrilled. I, for one, always loved the Vincent and JT interactions and even though Vincent has lost his memory, their interactions are gold. Like Season 1, old habits die hard because we see Vincent opening up to JT and they eventually have a little heart-to-heart conversation-something they shared throughout the first season. Picture yourself in Vincent's shoes: you don't really know who you are (other than what people have told you) and your supposed girlfriend and best friend are trying to reach out to you. Even if you aren't accepting at first, eventually, like Vincent, you will start opening up to them.



We automatically start seeing Vincent open up to Catherine (ergo sex in Episode 2.02 "Kidnapped") but until the most recent episode, the bromance wasn't happening. I'm glad Vincent found the courage (if he even needed any) to talk to JT even though he still doesn't remember him. The instant he admitted to hurting Catherine, I couldn't help but want to hop into the TV and give both Vincent and JT a big hug. Vincent still looked devastated and JT was incredibly shocked and I'm not talking about fear or surprise. JT's reaction to Vincent's confession sent me chills. I literally held my breath when JT said, "Like physically?"



Now, I'm not going to go through every scene and talk about the highlights but if there is ONE thing I'd like to say about Gabe (Sendhil Ramamurthy) and Tess (Nina Lisandrello), it would be that I can see a shipment (?) in the future! Why else would these two characters be suddenly teamed together (quite often too) within this episode? Also, you could smell their flirtation with one another from your couch! I know there are some JT&T shippers out there but I'm sorry, I don't ship that. :/ Yes, JT and Tess can have heart-to-hearts and I'm sure the writers might play with that pairing for an episode or two but I don't think it will actually work as a thing. Sorry.



What REALLY surprised me was that JT Forbes (no offense Austin Basis) did not have the best lines of the episode! I did love his one-liner "Maybe he just wants to see you in a swimsuit." but the other characters, in my opinion, had the funnier lines! However, JT did have some heartfelt lines with Vincent (which I'm glad b/c it shows he isn't just snark) but, to be honest, the best lines award must go to Gabe and Tess!



Gabe: "Hi? That's your big idea?"



Gabe: "Your partner wants to go undercover, pretend she's [Vincent's] girlfriend, even though she is his girlfriend, even though he doesn't remember that."



Gabe: "I'm not saying that Vincent's laptop wouldn't be helpful right now, but he's a human polygraph." (my only comment: V isn't a human though)



Tess: "I don't know if I'm relieved or disturbed."



Tess: "Like that ever works."



Tess: "Right, a don't ask, don't tell investigation"



Those are my top three faves for each character but, I'm telling you, there's more of them! Kudos to Sendhil and Nina!



Sebastian (David de Lautour) by far was the best beast (aside from V of course) yet! His magic really enhanced his skills and I actually liked the fact that Sebastian was actually a challenge for Vincent! If Vincent could defeat all of the beasts as if he was breaking crayons, the show wouldn't be as interesting and would turn out to be too predictable. Obviously, that's not the case, is it?



I have one thought on the elevator scene: IT'S ABOUT TIME VINCENT KELLER REMEMBERED SOMETHING! There, I said it. It's done. It happened. I'm over it now. Let's proceed, shall we?



At the end of the episode, I was deeply moved. I know some Beasties were probably pissed off because Catherine closed the window on Vincent but seriously, he damn-right deserved it! If I were ever dating and my boyfriend ever lied to me, I would definitely slap his face and turn the opposite way too! Catherine's reaction wasn't uncommon and if she came running back into his arms instead of closing the window, the situation would not have seemed believable. And yes, I did cringe at this scene but again, it was certainly a good cringe! So therefore, I loved Catherine's reaction and am psyched for the next episode!



We all know why the most recent episode was called 'Liar, Liar." Now, I'm anxious to find out why Vincent's pants are on fire! O.O



I have much more I could say about this episode but I think I've covered the highlights. So, I hope you enjoyed this rather lengthy review and remember: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST AIRS ON MONDAYS AT 9/8 C. ON THE CW.
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