Cop Fridays 7: Maggie Q is Literally Saving America on Designated Survivor

     Let's all give a round of applause to poor President Tom Kirkman (Keifer Sutherland). He was about to be kicked out of the presidential cabinet as HUD Secretary and as an afterthought had to sit in a bunker during the State of the Union address as ABC's Designated Survivor. Then a major bombing of Washington's lawmakers left him in charge of running the country. I agree that Kirkman is a pretty chill leader, wanting to hear all theories about the Capitol bombing before weighing in.  Of course, he's a bit gullible. He believed Congressman Peter MacLeish (Ashley Zukerman) was a war hero and a survivor of the attack. Of course that was a facade. In reality,  MacLeish was one of the major players in the attack. He purposely excused himself to a secret bomb shelter, coming out the only survivor of the address. This resulted in MacLeish's confirmation as the new VP, despite questions about his "impeccable" army service. The designated congresswoman, Ms. Hookstratten (Virginia Marsden), smelled a rat, but was forced to approve him through due to lack of evidence. In the end, MacLeish's wife shot him and killed herself to keep their secret. The MacLeishes were so committed to their cause that they were only rattled by the digging of an FBI agent.

      I give Kirkman, his right hand lady Emily Rhodes (Italia Ricci), and new Press Secretary Seth Wright (Kal Penn) a lot of credit for managing the re-creation of the union. Kirkman remarked this week, "I need to to focus on government." They jumped in and ran with it, but they're lacking when it comes to figuring out the true reason for the capitol bombing. A terrorist group claimed responsibility, but the bomb material didn't match up. This important distinction was discovered by the unsung hero of the show, FBI Agent Hannah Wells (Maggie Q). While she is crazily acting like the lone member of the FBI to solve this case, it's justified.  It's amusing to see Ms. Q finally working for the government again, and both sides being good. As the lead of the CW's Nikkita, Ms. Q kicked ass and took names as she brought a government assassin ring to justice. This time, she's still investigating government conspiracies for the government.

     Agent Wells had to clear her name a number of times, but she kept searching for justice. It could be a drinking game how often she is in trouble.* Wells was arrested for shooting at President Kirkman's sniper, which confused the law enforcement into thinking she was involved in the hit. She most notably was suspended from her duties for aiding the arrested FBI Director Atwood. Atwood was blackmailed into murdering the terrorist leader (allegedly responsible for the attack) in custody after his son was kidnapped. The young Atwood boy's body was devastatingly returned to his father in a recent episode, and  Hannah was there to comfort the director. She gently reminded him that committing  murder of a known terrorist was a good thing. This week, Wells questioned new Chief of Staff Aaron about his involvement in leaking confidential Capitol plans to aid in the building of MacLeish's bomb shelter. She chased leads through rural Virginia and shot at the former Chief of Staff (still alive!), which looked bad on her resume. Agent Wells got into a car accident on the way to testify in front of the congressional committee, and  sewed up her own wounds with the assistance of a FBI friend. She is one tough chick, but there's a deeper story. In the pilot, Hannah searched for a survivor of the attack, her unnamed married senator boyfriend. I want to know more about this relationship, but it sounds like it's going to the back burner as the police works heats up.

     As we head into the last few episodes of the season, Wells's work is only doubling. She recently connected with the President in his hospital room to spill the beans on MacLeish, and they're now best friends. Wells has been granted carte blanche status to get to the bottom of the Capitol conspiracy. A new layer of the problem has been revealed by the former chief of staff. Someone specifically ordered Kirkman to be the designated survivor before the attack. This reason goes beyond trying to fire him from the cabinet. As the newest pawn in this scene, Kirkman granted Agent wells to be a one-woman Hawaii-5-0 police force, reporting only to him. Now Wells can legally participate in CIA-crazy spy techniques and shoot at people to get to the bottom of this. It's the same thing she was doing before, but with a lot less getting arrested.


* If you're playing this drinking game, also drink when President Kirkman adjusts or removes his glasses. I thought in the first few episodes they were some sort of covert listening device because there seemed to be too much focus on them. 

Drew Barrymore Pens A New Delightful Celebrity Memoir

Image from Celbzz
I would do this if I had a memoir!

     My name is Kelly and I love reading celebrity memoirs! Since the beginning of 2017, I have already sailed through three. I enjoyed delectable presents from my book club bestie including  TGIT Shonda Rhimes's  Year of Yes and Glee star Naya Rivera's Sorry Not Sorry.

     I chose a book for  my recent trip based on my current TV binge. I finished watching Netflix's The Santa Clarita Diet and 90's fan girl-ed out over how much I adore Drew Barrymore. Her Fall 2015 book Wildflower is full of interesting stories that kept me turning pages. I can't stop laughing about her RV trip with Nancy Fallon where they drove the vehicle into the roof a gas station in a rough part of New Orleans.There's lots of great moments Drew from her learning how to be a mom, to a survivalist  trip with the Charlie's Angels girls. Barrymore reflects on her unusual childhood, famous relatives and and teenage addiction with poise and patience.GRADE: A

Grey's Anatomy Season 12: Can We Mend Japril's Broken Hearts?

     I loved this week's Jackson (Jesse Williams) and April (Sarah Drew) centered episode of Grey's Anatomy. I have really been digging some of these more intimate episodes that focus on a few characters and their one through-line story, and this was a doozy. Jackson (Avery) and Meredith are supposed to to Montana to operate on a little girl at the Avery Hospital there. Of course, Jackson's overbearing mother (the lovely Debbie Allen) changes plans at the last moment and sends her favorite ex-daughter-in-law (April) instead. It's weird enough that the two got divorced while April was pregnant, and they live together, but now they're taking work trips to a Podunk town? That's the definition of awkward turtle.

     As I had hoped, Jackson took this opportunity for more than just helping a cute, sick girl get her voice back. (He did get her get her voice back from a very threatening tumor in her throat, but I knew they would pull that off.) Jackson came to this town to spy on his deadbeat dad, the infamous Dr. Robert Avery. As the legend goes, the Sr. Dr. Avery met the voracious Catherine, and she rose to the challenge of running a large Avery (family medical) Foundation, and he peaced out from his family to find a simpler life. Robert quit medicine, moved to Montana and opened a diner, which really looked more like a bar that served food. Jackson gets drunk at the bar, he studies his books, and he cannot even speak to this man. What does someone say to the parent that abandoned them as a baby?

     Much to Robert's credit, he is warm and friendly to Jackson. He hugs him and asks about his life and Mommie Dearest when Jackson gets the guts to confess who he really is. What is Jackson really after? Is it closure, is it proving that he turned out to be a pretty great guy despite not having a real role model? Is it to show that his recent stepfather Richard is more of a father than this sperm donor ever was? I don't think Jackson particularly knows why, which is why he can't tell April what happened at first. April has a great tight-knit family. Sure they're a little judgey in a Christian way, but the Kebner clan have been there for April when she needed them  and they care about her happiness. The couple themselves have really been through some deep stuff.

• Seattle Grace and Marcy West merged. Their friend was shot and died like the first week, 
• April lost her virginity to Jackson during medical boards and lost her cool in the verbal exam
• April pulled a Runaway Bride at her wedding to the paramedic to run away with Jackson
• Their first baby was  delivered pre-term with a life-threatening condition, living an hour 
• She coped with the baby by leaving Seattle to work in the army medical corps 
• Their bitter divorce and goodbye sex that led to baby Harriet

     They couple are now partners in raising little Harriet (and possible the longest running ship still on Grey's) and their parenthood is really motivated by their solid friendship. In conclusion, there should be nothing they can't say to each other.

     This became such an emotionally charged episode, and at the root of it all, it brought Japril closer together than they have been in a long time. They were originally such great friends before their romance and it's my greatest hope would be to see these two crazy kids back together. Jackson got so drunk, he almost blew figuring out how to do the surgery safely. He brought up their dead baby in front of April (who did not take it well considering she took off to be a an army medic after that situation ended). They fought about how to safely complete the surgery, but when the right idea clicked, there as an electrical pulse between the couple. April also convinced Jackson to go back and see his father. He told Robert he did not want a relationship, he did not want his daughter to meet him, and to have a nice life. It's not the warm and fuzzy parental relationships we hope the Grey's kids will have, but in this case, it was best for Jackson. He could finally get closure on this part of his life. Jackson and April celebrated the surgery by face-timing their baby goodnight and having a hotel sleep-over. Is this meant to be closure on Jackson and April? I certainly hope not because even the actors are pulling for this long-suffering couple.

     In related news, I am completely uninterested in Meredith and Riggs (although I love Meredith dearly).  This "will they or won't they" often ends in won't and Meredith has a lot of damn baggage, so Riggs should stop this 2+ year pursuit. Now it's just annoying.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Sorry, no cop Fridays this week. Stay safe!

Gif from Indie Wire

Who's That Guy? - Ricardo Chavira

GIF from Tumblr

Ricardo Chavira is owning television in 2017. The actor first rose to popularity on Desperate Housewives as Gabrielle's jealous husband, Carlos Solis. The actor's chemistry with his television wife Eva Longoria sizzled so much that he guest starred in her short lived 2016 sitcom Telenovela.

 President Chavira
 Chiavera spent most of 2016 playing fictional Pennsylvania governor/Democratic presidential nominee Frankie Vargas on ABC's  Scandal. During the season, political mastermind and possible sociopath Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry) pushed Vargas to the front of America's consciousness. Beene went as far as to secretly initiate a shooting at the PA Capitol building, where the unknowing Vargas rescued co-workers and became an American hero. The race came down the kind Vargas candidate and the ex-first lady turned senator Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young).

     Last season's finale was drawing to a close as the clock ran down on on finding a running mate. In the last minutes of the show, Vargas called Beene to the stage, announcing him as his VP candidate. This season picked up in January with a shocking jump through the election. Vargas was announced as the winner and on stage to make his speech as President-Elect. Then he got SHOT! This is the second attempted presidential assassination on Scandal. Unlike the fortunate President Grant, Vargas did not survive, (Poor Vargas). Now Chavira appears in flashbacks that explain what happened along the campaign trail.  At first it seemed like VP-elect Beene was manipulating America, putting out an ideal candidate and plotting to taking him out so Beene himself would be the default leader. At this point in the story, we're still not sure who ordered President Vargas to be assassinated, but Beene and his secret lover (FBI agent Tom) have confessed their innocence in jail. Olivia (Kerry Washington) has also come to the conclusion that her accusation of Cyrus was wrong. Scandal show runner Shonda Rhimes said that  this season's story is about the electoral college and how it chooses the president when the people's candidate is taken out of the race. Many have argued that the show has picked up on an unrest in the country, even though the story line was on film long before the results of the election. I can't wait to find out more about what got Vargas assassinated in the coming weeks.

Lover Chavira
     Chavira also has a growing role as Bruce on the CW's Jane the Virgin. On Monday's episode, Bruce proposed to Jane's mother Xiomara (Andrea Navedo), known as Xo. In the first few episodes of the series, we learn Xo had an off-screen affair with Bruce and he recently broke up with her. Bruce was also cheating on his wife with Xo. Jane (Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez) and her grandmother vehemently despised Bruce for the turmoil he brought to their family.  Xo spent the first two seasons of the show finding her way back to Jane's over-dramatic telenovela star father, Rogelio De La Vega (played by Jaime Camil). Check out Rogelio's hilarious tweets here.

     Bruce is the complete opposite of Rogelio. Where Rogelio is vain and tweeting his feelings, Bruce is a quiet and reserved , and he is a lawyer. The triangle developed between the three has been intriguing over the last few months. Rogelio financed Xo to open her own dance studio, which coincidentally happened to be in the same complex as Bruce's new office. Xo seemed to have all her dreams coming true; Bruce and the studio, but at the cost of her friendship with Rogelio, The couple broke up as teens and Xo chose to raise Jane on her own. In their adult relationship, they got drunkenly married in Las Vegas, then engaged for real months later. In planning their life together, Xo chose to end things  because Rogelio wanted more children and she had already raised their daughter, who is now in her 20's.

     In the weeks since January's three-year jump and the death of Jane's husband Michael, Bruce and Xo have been going strong. As the show's least dramatic couple, their triumphs have been small, Xo and Jane winning over Bruce's teen daughter. This relationship one of the most real parts of the show.  I partly hope Xo and Bruce get married because she needs something stable in her life, although I am a hard-core Rogelio fan. Mr. De Le Vega got into a reality TV marriage with his matchmaker Darcy on the show, the De Le Vega-Factor. The show pieced together clips of Xo to look like a jealous ex, and fans of Rogelio actively name-call and throw coffee. Through this rift, Bruce encourages Xo to forgive Rogelio, and that makes me like Bruce even more! He helped Rogelio with legal advice on his lawsuit against the "DLVF" production company, because he knows it will please Xo. This whole situation brings up an important question in Jane's life. Can two people raise a child and not let their feelings get involved?  Jane and her baby daddy Raphael are also faced with the same question as she recovers from her husband's tragic death.

Officer Chavira

     “He doesn’t think we killed Gary, he’s just obsessed with ants!” remarked Sheila (Drew Barrymore) in episode 4 of The Santa Clarita Diet. The new Netflix show is reminiscent of Weeds, except instead of growing pot plants, Sheila is a new zombie. She and her husband Joel (Timothy Olyphant) start murdering people and storing them in a freezer in their storage unit so she can feed on their bodies. Chavira played their couple's nosy neighbor, Officer Dan. This guy was a crooked yet tough officer from the L.A. County Sheriff's office (he mocked a neighbor that works for the cushy Santa Monica police dept.) who became suspicious of the Hammonds.  This character reminds me the most of Chavira's character from Desperate Housewives. He is not a nice person. His gentle, nerdy stepson Eric constantly verbally abused at his own hand. Even Dan's wife Lisa (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) began an affair to get away from him.

     It's important to note that Sheila became a zombie through some unclear reason in episode 1. As of episode 8 (2 more to go), there is no explanation how this happened. She fed on her smarmy co-worker Gary in the backyard, eating his fingers and eventually his body. Joel, their daughter Abby, and Eric cover up the murder. Dan continued asking why Joel was outside spraying their lawn for ants in the middle of the night, which was a cover for washing away the blood. Dan was so obsessed with the lawn that he found a rogue finger and and blackmailed  Joel into attempting to murder a convict that could not be convicted. The couple reasoned this was in line with their new motto, only killing bad people that deserve it.  After a bad situation where the convict became a zombie, Dan took it too far. He falsified a dossier and asked them to kill Lisa's side dish, spreading horrible lies about the pediatric doctor (Scott Michael Foster).   Joel stood up to Dan as Abby and Eric planted a flash bomb in his garden. He was going out one way or another! Joel killed Dan in episode 5, smashing a shovel into his head, and marking the family's first non-zombie committed kill. Lisa and Dan's partner began a search for him, assuming he took off because of the contraband the teens discovered in the garage. Was his death justified? Will anyone figure out Joel killed Dan? I'm guessing this is an issue for season 2. 

I'm Not 'Born to Run'

   

Friends GIF from Potter Wars Blog

     Despite my best efforts, I will never enjoy running. My dad has been a lifelong runner. There's been talk of runner's high, which makes me question if the people talking about are indeed, high on something. It's just not in my bones. I feel that the only times it is appropriate to run are when chasing public transportation, fleeing an emergency situation, or during a zombie Apocalypse.

     It may seem peculiar to hear that I just finished my 2nd 5K race. Why? It's very simple. While I'm not a runner, I like achieving goals. I spent the last half of last year on a severely curbed workout plan, struggling through yoga classes and physical therapy to strengthen my neck. As my PT sessions wrapped up in early December, I hoped I could try exercising like a normal person again. It began with signing up with friends for a March 5K race. It was a solid 3.5 months to get my body into some sort of condition to run almost 3.5 miles. The training didn't go so well at first. After a month of holiday eating, stomach problems and a pretty serious sinus infection, I rolled into January wanting do anything but run.

The finish line! 

     But I had a goal in mind and off I went to go to the gym. I went to my work gym and my regular gym, day by day, as the weeks flew by. I worked on my mile time specifically. I knew if I had a solid time for one mile, I could keep re-applying that time to the additional miles. Occasionally, I attempted 2 miles on a weekend so my body would have a sense of how long I needed to endure. I trained with drinking lots of water, until I realized this would not be happening when I was running. I was going as light as possible. I sometimes walked as slow as 16.5 minutes for a mile. This was far worse  mile time that what I achieved during my first 5K last year. I started a calendar, marking each day with my workout achievements. It was a loose schedule, alternating days of running type exercise and more gently recovery exercises. An average week looked like :

• Pilates on Monday
• Yoga on Tuesday
• Treadmill/Chiropractor or massage appointments on Wednesday or Thursday, 
• Back to the treadmill on  Friday or Saturday
• Sunday was yoga and an occasional  10-15 minutes on the treadmill if I felt up to it. 

     Training was hard. I went through a lot of days of pain. It was too cold for me to go outside, except for one very warm February Saturday. I mostly toughed the pain out, relying on baths and ice packs. At this time, my stomach was healing from a too-heavy course of anti-inflammatory medicine. My neck pain returned with all types of activities from lifting a laundry basket to reaching under by bed. Still, I trained easy until the last week.

     The race day came, and it was unseasonably cold. An average of about 20 degrees with wind and light snow, that morning was the worst condition I could imagine.  I packed my fleece coat pockets with gloves, hand warmers, and tissues. My nose started running around mile 2 and I was already out of tissues. I pushed myself through the road course, up one massive hill and around several bends, but still having to rest my lungs from the extreme cold.  I was doing better than my slow walk time. As I approached the finish line, I saw my time and almost freaked out. I finished at 37 minutes and 38 seconds, and according to this nifty photo, I ran just under 12 minutes a mile on average.

     For the record, I'm still not a runner, but  I'm considering running another 5K race later this spring when the weather is much more cooperative. Who knows, there might be a bus I can chase on the way there.

Fashion or Foe: The Great Shorts Debate

'Jorts' (c) PipPepPop

     I'm heading to a warm climate for a spring break trip, and I'm trying on my summer clothes in the middle of a blizzard. It's moved way past odd timing, since we just got an extra hour of daylight about 2 days ago. I'm officially in a summer shopping binge. As I mentioned last week, it's tough enough to shop for petite fashions, but even more so when they're made to be short. I've encountered shorts problems  most notoriously involving the length. The classic above-knee Bermuda short usually comes below my knee, making it more conservative than your standard 3" inseam 'Daisy Duke' short, but somewhere in-between a short and a capri.

     So where do I continue my shorts struggle? One of the bizarre trends I've noticed on fashion retail websites is the pairing of a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt or long sleeve top. This seems to be a trend per my Google search, possibly made popular by the breezy lake fashions of Dawson's Creek. You can spot Katie Holes in the season 1 credits here, sporting a tied dress shirt top and shorts. I have tried this, but never left the house intentionally in this outfit. The reason for this is that there is never a time when I'm going to be be outside where my legs and arms are not equally cold. I'm definitely not going to pair a sweater with my shorts, as suggested by Ann Taylor Loft and other retailers.  If I'm going to wear a sleeved and shorts, I'm just going to save myself the complaining and put on longer pants to stay warm.

     My other conundrum when it comes to shorts is the style. In an ideal world, you would have a few pairs in different colors, prints and possibly even shapes. I love the idea of classy black or white shorts that can be paired with a cute (short length) tank. I even fancy printed shorts that can be paire with a solid top. In reality, I usually end up searching for a pair of dark blue jean shorts (jorts). Then when washing, I pray the blue doesn't run if it's a particularly hot day. In New Orleans, a brand new pair of blue jean shorts bled all over my fabric bag from sheer sweat!

     In the quest for the perfect pair of denim shorts, there are two types, frayed and finished. While I own some frayed pairs, I'm not a fan. They end up looking too worn soon after the first wash. I'm all for something that I could wear to a picnic or amusement park and not worry about getting dirty, but I shouldn't have to pick off split threads  after each time I wear them. The frayed pair is usually marketed as a cutoff, like you took for favorite pair of jeans and shortened the length. More often than not, I find the shorts are made different from my favorite pair of jeans, either roomier in the leg or gaping around my tailbone. Is there a perfect pair out there? I'll keep looking until I find it.

My ideal pair would have to be:

• A minimum 5" inseam (even as a teenager I didn't want my butt hanging out)
• Evenly finished at the bottom
• Tight enough around my waist that I don't need a belt (#NoBelts) (#NoBoyfriendFit)
• Casual, but could  be dressed up

Cop Fridays 5: After 8 Seasons, the Sheriff Can't Stop Doppelgangers and their Vampire Diaries*

     Happy 20th Anniversary today to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the grandmommy of all teen vampire dramas! We'll touch on BTVS briefly tonight as it relates to The Vampire Diaries but devote more time to it soon.

"Evacuate the town. Yeah, it's another gas leak." -- Sheriff Matt Donovan

     This is the Mystic Falls town slogan. I would also accept, "Come for the vampires, but stay for the lies that everything is going to be okay," because nothing in Mystic Falls is ever going to be okay. This place has been haunted by vamps since the Civil War! I find it ironic that in the last episode of the series, we're going back to the old classics. Similar to the old Buffy adage, "This crime was committed by a gang on pcp." The Vampire Diaries had their share of police cover-ups. In the beginning, Sheriff Forbes and Mayor Lockwood put the town at ease by straight up lying. Vicki Donovan (sister of Matt) was bit by vampire Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) during a party in the woods, and everyone believed she was bit by an animal, another Buffy lame excuse. When in doubt, all of the vampires could glamour humans and make them believe whatever they told them in a trance-like state. It worked fine until Stefan became human again. All of his glamours became undone and the town was ready to riot before the gates of hell were being opened. Much like Buffy, TVD also has a gateway to hell lurking around their school. This is more a recent development as the "Hells Bells" came to town with TVD's siren sisters this season.  
     

Image fro GURL.com

     Let's talk more about the concept of a vampire going back to being a human. This concept has been a big part of TVD and I believe the cure was introduced around season four. The cure would only work for one person, and it looked like a large capsule of blood. Apparently, some Internet reading led me to find out the cure came from a brotherhood hunting The Originals witches as early as the year 1100. It was buried in some remote part of the earth and everyone wanted it for their own reasons. The idea was to give it to Elena (Nina Dobarev) because being a vampire was kinda an accident and it made her miserable.

Multiple Dimensions, Bonnie's Deaths and "The Cure"

     When a few witches created alternate dimensions to trap people {1994 for Kai Parker (Chris

Bonnie and the Bennett Witches
Image from Youtube

Wood) and 1903 for Mama Salvatore}, there were multiple cures created in those prison worlds. This brought the number of cures to 3. The first cure went to Katherine Pierce, a big bad doppelganger of Elena, also played by Dobarev. (The total number of doppelgangers she played was three.)The second cure went to Silas, a doppelganger of Damon's more saintly brother Stefan (only two doppelgangers for Paul Wesley). The third cure went into Elena's body before a season 6 wedding. Instead of Elena dying (and Dobarev leaving the show forever), she was put in a coma, her life tied to her best friend, Bonnie Bennett (Kat Grahm). For all her witchy ways, Bonnie could not figure out how to bring Elena back, aside from killing herself. Bonnie died three times over the course of the series and almost a record 4th time in the penultimate episode (Buffy only dies twice). But Bonnie is a fighter and she made it back through a loophole every time, so things were not looking good for Elena in this lifetime. After the big battle (see below) is over, Elena wakes up. Suddenly, Bonnie realized she knew how to break the spell. This was a stretch of convenience for the last few minutes of the episode. We don't know how she did it after barely practicing magic for the last 3-4 years.  I sincerely hope she channeled the power of her ancestor witches, in the image above. Bonnie used their strength to win the big battle (like Willow when she gave slayer hopefuls their powers early from the cool slayer scythe). Bonnie ends the show along, but she keeps seeing the ghost of her dead boyfriend Enzo, and she seems to be cool with it. Bonnie finally got out of that town and was headed off to see Europe. You go, Bonnie Bennett.

The Big Battle- "I was Feeling Epic"

     A few episodes ago, Bonnie injected some of  the cure out of Elena's sleeping body so she could give it to her boyfriend, Enzo. Then sweet Stefan went evil (just like Angel lost his soul and became Angelus) because he turned off his humanity to serve the devil for a few years. Also known as "Cade", the devil made the Salvatore brother work for him collecting bad souls in exchange for not taking Caroline and Ric's twin witch toddlers, which is like a magical full house. Bonnie punished Stefan by stabbing him with the cure, and turning him human for the first time in 150 years. At this point, the cure rules become unclear. Stefan got the cure, but it's still in Elena's sleeping body. It does, however, becomes clear that doppelganger Katherine is pulling the strings in hell. Surprise! She's had Cade torturing the gang since she died a few years ago.  Through Stefan and Caroline's wedding, they lure Katherine back to town. Here's the plan, trap her in the underground tunnels, and hope Bonnie can channel hellfire through the tunnels (like when an earthquake swallowed Sunnydale into the Hellmouth) to swallow Katherine back to hell and destroy the whole construct, once and for all. Stefan volunteers, he has a family to protect now. Damon volunteers, because he's done some bad stuff and has spent the last season pondering if he would ever be worthy of Elena when she wakes up. As Heath Ledger said in 10 Things I Hate About You, "Does this chick have beer flavored nipples?" The blind love and devotion for Elena is at times, completely revolting. So  now Damon is going to trap Katherine in the tunnels. Psych! Stefan comes at the last minute and stabs his brother with (you guessed it) the cure, so he can also be human, and live out a human life with Elena. Stefan goes down in hellfire with Katherine as a hero. He is officially, dead. Everyone was pretty upset about it, especially his brother (after 150+ years on earth, you get attached). I was near tears when they had a  "woods funeral" for Stefan, playing The Fray's Look After You. This song was significant for two reasons, it was callback to Stefan and Elena in the pilot, and Candace Accola (Caroline) actually married one of the band members. We saw Stefan pass over as he jumped into a car with his old (dead) pal, Lexie, where he proclaimed, "I was feeling epic!"

What exactly is hellfire? 

      Now we come back to Sheriff Matt Donovan and what he did for the town. First of all, Matt is the only character on the show that (a) did not die and (b) remained human the entire time.  Secondly, he only became the Sheriff because enough people died, moved away, or quit that he was the only one dumb enough to stick around in a town that was at one time, preventing non-vampires from entering at the "welcome" sign.  Does that make him a good cop? I can't say. I can say that Matt was the Mystic Falls equivalent of a Xander Harris. He had a pure heart, and he needed to do just one thing to prove he was worthy of being part of this extraordinary group. 

     Matt finally got parents this season, and they revealed he was from one of the founding families (he could have been Miss Mystic Falls). This means Matt wasn't the white trash he always believed he came from. The Maxwell family designed the founders' town bell, and the Bennett witches put a spell on it to drive away sirens. But a different number of rings would open the gates of hell, located just under the town square (just like the high school library). Before the grand plan to eradicate Katherine was developed, Matt agreed to ring the bell.  Then his 20-years absent dad jumped in to ring it, but hey changed their minds after hearing the town would be eradicated. Then Matt's mom came back from the dead (don't feel bad, Matt didn't even know she died) and got his (also dead) sister Vicki to ring the bell, bringing hellfire. Matt and Damon tried to kill Vicki, but remember, she's been dead since about episode 5. At least by this point, the crack team had a plan in place to take down Katherine and preserve the town. The town later presented Matt with a bench (for still having a town to come back to) while the ghosts of his sister and friend Tyler watched.  

Caroline/Rick/Stefan- One Happy Family?

     Caroline and Stefan got married in the penultimate episode. I know they've been engaged all season, but something about their relationship has never won me over. Maybe I am a sucker for the chemistry Stefan first had with Elena, and that fact that they're doppelgangers, souls reborn into identical bodies over and over again. That means something! Does it mean something that Caroline was hard core hitting on Stefan in the first episode? I choose to believe it was just a way to show her personality at that time, she was a boy-crazy friend of Elena, light and airy until she (within the first half of the season) became a vampire. That being said, a more grown up Caroline was forced into this family with Ric because she was gifted with carrying his wife's mystical twins. We all remember Jo's devastating murder at the hand of her twin brother (Kai) during her wedding. She is the only mom these kids will ever know, and Ric is the dad to all of the kids in mystic falls, because they have terrible family situations. Ric almost married Elena's aunt at one point (before she died), and it turned out his first wife was Elena's biological mother. Talk about an awkward family reunion... So Caroline and Ric called off their wedding a few years ago because she was really in love with Stefan. But, I always believed Ric had fallen in love with Caroline and I wanted to see them end up together. With Stefan gone a day after he got married, I am hoping Caroline and Ric come together again, this time with love and gratitude fro what they've faced with these twin terrors (siren nannies and the like). Their last scene is opening a magic school (just like Charmed) with Elena's brother Jeremy, much like the Derek Zoolander center, except books catch on fire and there may be Harry Potter robes. I guess the idea of the school is to prevent kids from spinning out and becoming magical super villains, like Kai. Despite their generous endowment to begin the school from creepy vampire Klaus, I choose to believe Caroline and Ric are together. 

Elena and Damon- Happily Ever After, or Are They Dead? 

     Elena and Damon are living happily as humans. I'm not happy with it, but I'm accepting it based on the circumstances. Elena writes in her journal, with a big rock on her finger, back in the graveyard again. In the first episode, she went to the cemetery to feel close to her recently deceased parents. Now, I think it's mostly for Stefan's benefit. I assumed she was writing ho him in her journal. As a typical back from the dead over-achiever, Elena completed college, med school, and actually became a doctor. I guess she handles blood well. She finished journaling and Damon met her to walk somewhere. There's a crow in the graveyard. It's another callback to the first episode. I also think Stefan's soul may be in that crow. Yes, it's a stretch, but it makes me happy.

     Here's where TVD lost me: the last scene. I'm going out on a LOST limb here, so bear with me. From all the interviews and pieces I have read, we are flashing forward to the end of Damon and Elena's lives. Otherwise, all of this was for nothing because it seems like we're following them into the not too distant afterlife. Elena and Damon were strolling down the street. Elena stopped at her home, (which she burned down upon becoming a vampire) and her dead parents were out on the porch. She ran up the steps, hugging them and her dead aunt, Jenna. Then her dead biological father (Uncle John) came out with a bottle of wine and hugged her. To me, one reunites with dead people when they have also crossed over. The last shot was Damon ringing the bell at the old Salvatore house, which a second ago was being converted into a magic school by Caroline and Ric. Stefan opened the door and greeted his brother home with a hug. The last words are another callback to the pilot, when Damon breezed into town to murder people. He said to Stefan, "Hello brother." If Damon was worried he would never see Stefan again, and here they are together in their home, they must be dead. If they really did destroy hell with it's own fire, they must be in heaven. So it seems like both brothers found redemption for being such vicious killers.

     While that's a great note to end on, I want to believe Stefan got another shot with Elena in the afterlife. They had such a beautiful (but too short) moment saying goodbye while Elena was in her sleeping beauty coma that I can't be completely satisfied with this ending.

 NOTE: A "woods funeral" is a memorial held for someone who is dead on TVD. I coined this term because it's happened multiple times, and at least a few of them were for Bonnie.  I guess this group needs to say their goodbyes in private, so a real funeral may also be held. They meet in the woods near the graveyard, possibly by the Lockwood family crypt. They say some nice things and often leave tokens for the dead. 

     *My original intent was to call this "Twins, Doppelgangers and Time Jumps", but there was only one jump, three sets of twins and a gaggle of vampires, diaries and doppelgangers to discuss., so we paired it down. 

Fashion or Foe: It's Not Easy Being Petite

   In honor of International Women's day, I'm tackling an issue dear to my heart: petite fashion!

Sometimes getting dressed is like this Clueless scene. GIF from Tumblr. 

This is not how a maxi dress should fit!
Image from Pintrest

     I enjoy shopping for clothes as much as the next gal, but I sometimes find the task insurmountable because of my size. I am 5 feet tall, and I am a petite size. You must be thinking now, is this girl complaining about being small? How dare she? For the record, it's not all it's cracked up to be. I often feel like I'm a child playing dress-up in my dad's work shirts. Unlike in Rom-coms, it is not a cute look. I also had a maxi dress that made me look like Kirsten the American Girl (left) in her Christmas robe. As an investment in my sanity, I have found a delightful tailor that knows my shape and has saved countless garments from return or the Goodwill pile.



     I've taken to online shopping, sight unseen, to find the most petite options. In recent months, Express, Gap and Old Navy have all launched online petite collections. I enjoyed the petite fit of The Limited, but as mentioned in a previous post, that is no longer an option. Part of the frustration in petite shopping is that these stores have the audacity to carry the items only in their warehouses. They're doing you a "favor" by creating shorter length pants (still not short enough if you ask me), but you have to use a picture of a model to guess the fit. It says the pants are made for a 5'4" size and under, but those cropped jeans will still hit me at the ankle. The size chart is often not helpful enough in determining fit. Some petite sizes are just less long than the regular, or give a general size like 4-6, which is neither a 4 or a 6. These retailers need to size clothing accordingly and address common problems like the butt/waistband gap issue. (For this problem, I am now wearing petite curvy jeans). In a nutshell, you have no idea how they really fit, and they make you pay to ship the items to your house. You may order two sizes, and you end up spending a lot of time dealing with returns because a blousy petite small tank is still about 2 sizes too big for some reason.

     If you can brave out the petite section of a store, god bless! I took a stroll through my local Macy's petite section, which is about 20' x 15' total due to the Macy's Backstage taking up most of one floor. The cute sweaters in the women's sportswear were nowhere to be found in this postage stamp of a collection. At best, it looks like someone that cared little about fashion or fit could find some petite options here. It was pathetic. I stop in at Ann Taylor Loft every few weeks to check their petite section. If I'm looking for jeans, I may be in luck. If I'm looking for anything else, the options are 'lofty.' I bought a small striped top a few months ago, and it still appeared huge on my frame, as low as my mid-thigh and mid-sleeved. Who is the parson that thinks all small women want to wear tunics? I would love to see more dresses and tops that fit or follow my frame.  I don't need more over-sized sweaters and drapey tops!

Supergirl: Daddy’s Home

Some comic book humor
 from Instagram Search Meme

     In a brilliant casting turn, last year’s Supergirl pilot brought in former TV Superman Dean Cain playing Kara’s earth father, Dr.  Jeremiah Danvers. Of all the parents that face their grown children in this show, Dr. Danvers is by far the one with the most baggage (see comparison below). In a convenient plot twist, Dr. Danvers appeared in a few flashbacks because he died in an “accident.” Later in the first season, Kara (alias Supergirl, played by (Melissa Benoist) and her adoptive sister Alex (Chyler Leigh) discovered their dad was still alive, held captive for over 13 years by a top-secret organization called  Cadmius. I had to look it up, but Cadimus is a top-secret genetic engineering project, for those of us not up on our comic book lore.  The women also learned that their dad was part of the same alien protection agency (DEO for short) that the sisters joined to protect earth from bad aliens. Kara, recently kidnapped by Cadimus to drain her powers, was freed from the compound by dead old dad. It was only a matter of time before we saw him again. This week, Jeremiah escapes the organization's convoy and comes home.

     Dr. Danvers is eager to jump back into his family life. A family dinner was called with wife Eliza, the girls, and their beaus, Mon-El (Chris Woods for Kara) and Maggie (Floriana Lima for Alex), Mama Danvers makes things very clear to her estranged husband. He’s been missing for a decade and  half, and they can’t just pick up where they left off.  Dr. Danvers is also physically limited from his previous work. He is missing a hand, a punishment for helping Kara and Mon-El escape.  Dr. Danvers asks to come back to the DEO, and his old friend Director Henshaw (the delightful David Harewood)  invites him back with open arms. The two have a very interesting past.*

     The gentleman working at the DEO ( Mon-El and Kara's friend Winn) both are overly suspicious that Dr. Danvers is a spy. The sisters refuse to believe their dad would betray them, even though he was held captive and possibly brainwashed  for almost 15 years. For those of us that loosely understand the Superman folklore, Cadimus is evil. The group wants to rid earth of aliens and it's run by the mother of all baddies, (literally) Lillian Luthor. The big action is that Cadimus was supposed to be transporting a chemical bomb when Dr. Danvers escaped. The bomb used Kara's power from her captivity and it will blow up the whole city if the DEO can't stop it. Of course, Dr. Danvers was corrupted by Cadimus and is stealing information from the DEO to help Cadimus. Most importantly, he accesses the master list of all aliens on earth. I'm sure the same list could be put together just walking into the local alien bar (which reminds me of  Angel's demon karaoke bar Caritas). In the last minutes of the show, Kara stops a train from crashing, after the bomb blew up the train track over a ravine. (Back to the Future much?) Alex confronts her father for stealing from the DEO, but lets him escape because she cannot deal with bringing him in for punishment. It's heartbreaking, it's real, and it's not over yet. Tonight we should get more closure on the issue, but I cannot see how Dr. Danvers will ever be a good guy again.  Here is how Dr. Danvers fares against other parents on the show:

Kara’s real alien parents:

     Kara Zor-El’s mom and dad were wise rulers back on the planet of Krypton. Kara held them in high regard and would reach out to their holograms in season 1 when she found trouble on earth . Being sent away from her home as a pre-teen, Kara had issues opening up to people. She finally had the opportunity to get together with her pal James (Jimmy) Olsen (Mechad Brooks)  toward the end of last season, but she abruptly changed her mind and walked away. I’m going to chalk this departure up to psychological trauma and abandonment issues.  Despite her lovely earth family and the resilient Mrs. Doctor Danvers, Kara formed a close parental attachment to her boss, Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart). Ms. Grant called Kara by the wrong name, sent her on stupid assignments and chastised her for disappearing in the middle of the day. Secretly, I think she knew Kara was always a bit distracted because she was out saving the city. Ms. Grant took an abrupt sabbatical from her company at the beginning of this season, ruining everything. She promoted Kara from assistant to reporter and Supergirl has been super lost all season. 

     In other disturbing family news, Kara’s alien prison escapee Aunt Astra (Laura Berlanti) came to earth last season to bring eco-terrorism! Through many fights, Kara’s feeling about her parents got taken down a peg. Were they as perfect and just as they claimed to be back home? It also didn’t help that Astra was Kara’s mom’s identical twin. It gave me enough of the heebie jeebies, I imagine it was a head trip for Supergirl as well. In last season’s battle royale, Alex killed Astra, leaving her adopted sister with no other blood relatives. This messed with Kara’s head to the point that being trapped in delusion of being on her home planet sounded better than reality.  Astra’s creepy husband came earlier this season for revenge, and the group had to take him down as well. This left me with big questions: 

What is the Zor-El side of the family tree like? 

Will we ever see Supeman’s alien parents? Are they nice?

Is Kara's dad named Zor-El Zor-El? 

General Lane, Dad of Lucy and Lois:    
     General Lane is not a nice man, much like the real Hank Henshaw. He is an army general with a heart of steel. He made life for Supergirl very difficult, vehemently opposing aliens and refusing to accept her help in taking down some very bad creatures. We are left with the impression that he barely speaks to eldest daughter (and Superman's gal) Lois. His younger daughter Lucy (Jenna Dewan Tatum) joined the family practice, becoming a lawyer for the army. He forced Supergirl to fight an army-created android, and took over the DEO, torturing alien prisoners. When Lucy learned Kara was Supergirl, she wanted her dad to lighten up, but he could not change his thinking about aliens. These daddy issues made things between Lucy and James rough at a time when we were all rooting for them to break up and James to declare his love to Kara. By the time it happened, Kara's issues got in the way and Lucy left the gang.

Winslow Schott Sr., Winn's Dad    
     Winn's dad is a literal mad scientist. The brilliant Henry Czerny (Revenge) played the jailbird with ease. Also known as Toyman, Winn Sr. weaponized toys to make them do evil things. He tried to get Winn to help him, but he turned him down and helped capture him. 

Cat Grant, Adam's Mom
     Cat revealed to Kara that she is the mother of two sons. Kara gets stuck babysitting the precocious tween Carter while Cat goes out of town, but she later learns Cat has another son. Cat gave up Adam for adoption when she was about 20 and she has always felt bad about never reaching out to her son and building a relationship with him. Kara tracks down Adam and reunites the pair, and the begins dating Adam. It all ends badly, the pair break up and Cat goes back to being tough on Kara.

Lillian Luthor, Lena and Lex's Mom
     Two episodes ago, we got a deep dive into the backstory of the Luthor family. Off-screen Lex Luthor (a known nemesis of Superman) is criminally insane and rotting in jail. His younger sister Lena (new to the cast this season)  and has taken over the family business Lexcorp to try to rebuild and re-brand. It was revealed that Lena was an illegitimate child, taken in and raised as a proper Luthor. Lillian (Brenda Strong) was against the idea, and she always cared more for her biological son than her adopted daughter.  Lena was offered her mother's love once this season, but turned it down and helped put her in jail for her sketchy criminal activities. Remember, this woman is the head of Cadimus. Lena was recently framed for breaking her mother out of jail, but Supergirl helped prove her innocence because the two have developed a sweet friendship. Kara and Lena also have a lovely reporter/subject relationship that has developed, which may take the place of Lena's crappy family.  

The Henshaw/Danvers connection:
* Dr. Danvers and the real Hank Henshaw were members of the Department of Extra-Normal Operations. The pair went out to retrieve a martin as part of their DEO assignment. Henshaw, a cruel human that hated all aliens, died on the mission. The martian (J'onn J'onzz) assumed Henshaw's physical form, bringing about a friendlier DEO. From then on, the DEO set out not only to capture aliens, but to assist good aliens like Kara and her cousin Clark.

Cop Fridays 4: This Partnership is Lethal

   Welcome to another installment of Cop Fridays! Let it be known that (in Oprah voice) I love buddy cop dramas. There's something about a wild card and a straight man that brings comedy and joy to every scene. When a network takse a beloved 80's movie franchise and turn it into a TV show, it can go one of two ways, it can be as good as or better than the original, or it can tank. Luckily, FOX's new Lethal Weapon has been to quote Barney Stinson, "All Rise." The delightful pairing of Damon Wayans as the seasoned  "I'm too old for this S**t" Det. Murtaugh and Clayne Crawford as the "request backup later" Det. Riggs is one for the TV partners hall of fame. In my opinion, they are neck and neck with Hawaii 5-0's McGarrett and Danno, which we'll get to in a future post.

     The most recent (2/22) episode involved a murder of a promising college football recruit. It brought the pair to a new location as Murtaugh considers a cushy job in college security. The pair would have to disband their partnership, but Murtaugh could guarantee free college for his three kids assuaging his newly unemployed wife, Trish (Keesha Sharp). In a previous episode, Mrs. Murtaugh quit her big firm law job. After jumping off (again) a dormitory building, Riggs exclaimed somewhat shockingly, somewhat delighted, "I'm literary covered in beer." Riggs's pursuit of the case, of course, ruins Murtaugh's chance at the security job and tanks the popular college football team's season.

     Though the pair are not Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, they have a palpable chemistry. Det. Riggs (shown above) comes to Los Angeles as a transfer from Texas, escaping after a cartel murders his pregnant wife. His in-laws live in the area and try to bring him back to reality, but he doesn't want their help. Riggs spends nights drinking himself to sleep, dreaming about his wife Miranda (Floriana Lima) and taking risky chances on the job. The two were partnered in the hopes that sensible Murtaugh would help to even out the volatile Riggs. Riggs at times over the season opens up to Murtaugh and his family, even becoming a confidant of Murtaugh's teenage son and daughter. Trish's first invitation to family dinner becomes an open one and Riggs slowly shifts into the" fun uncle" role, although Murtaugh's toddler makes him squirmy after his previous trauma.

     Both Riggs and Murtaugh have been to therapy, and for good reasons. Riggs is forced by the department (see risky antics and borderline alcoholism) to see a shrink, played by Jordana Brewster. Brewster's Dr. Cahill seems to get through to Riggs marginally in each session we witness, as he gives a little and then takes it all back at the end. Dr. Cahill is incredibly patient, letting Riggs eat her salad from the work fridge because it must mean more to him than to her since he went to the trouble of stealing it. I could see this  duo blossoming into a "will they or won't they" type of ship in the future. Riggs also has struck up a friendship with DEA Agent Karen Palmer (Hilarie Burton) that could turn romantic, and I am on board for that. Burton plays a role that reminds me of her White Collar character Sara, only on the law-enforcement side instead of the con/conned side. A recent episode ended with Riggs covering Sara with a blanket after fetching some late night Chinese food. It's a relatively new side to Riggs and it looks like this may develop more in next week's episode. I would like to see him start to move on, or at least make another friend besides Riggs.

Damon Wayans on Happy Endings
 Photo From Youtube

     Murtaugh's journey is a bit more complicated. He is always the dependable one, the by-the-book cop, which becomes one of the main sources of conflict, and comedy. Damon Wayans is a great comedic actor, as are all Wayans brothers, but I tie his best work to his facial expressions and his son, Damon Wayans, Jr.  As Murtaugh, Wayans is expressive in small, quiet ways. He seems grumpy most of the time, but lights up in scenes with his family. Murtaugh is cop before he is a father. He makes sure to punish his kids when they get busted for things a fake I.D. or for joy riding an expensive car.

     Following the pre-pilot heart attack that sidelined him,  Murtaugh slowly falls to pieces  in an episode where he must wear a heart monitor while on the job. Police work is bound to be stressful, but Riggs jumping off buildings and chasing cars sets the monitor off at an alarming rare. I know I shoul be concerned for Murtaugh and his health, but Wayans keeps me laughing. Another great episode paired the detectives with a Chinatown detective that was Murtaugh's procedural equal. They both wanted to call in backup  early, a refreshing change from what usually happens (usually backup is not called or comes after the gunfire with the perps has started). In the end, Murtaugh could not take up the detective's offer to switch departments because he seems to relish in the frustration and danger that comes with each day on the job.

     Reality is not lost on this show. Los Angeles is a crazy place, and crimes have taken the investigators to model parties, casinos, churches, and even burglaries in Murtaugh's suburban neighborhood. At the end of the pilot, the duo get reamed out by their superior Capt. Avery (Kevin Rahm,) for causing over $60,000 dollars of damage to the the city while pursuing suspects. This seems like a scene that would end a movie. Since this is a TV show, we see from week to week how the detectives are treated by the department after messing up. They are given a warning, they are sent to therapy etc.. Some may call the show predictable, but there's something nice about a predictable show. It's almost as if this show was a  drama trapped in the body of a sitcom. As an audience, we see changes in Murtaugh and Riggs's interactions with each other, but they tend to be stock characters and we know that in each new situation, something will go amiss.  By the end of the episode, they find a way to bring in the bad guys, and they try to resolve personal issues that develop during the episode. That's something I'll never be too old for...

See the 1st  Cop Fridays post here.
See the 2nd Cop Fridays post here.
See the 3rd  Cop Fridays post here.

Why Sports Night Failed

GIF from Imgur

     I made it 5 episodes into Aaron Sorkin's half-hour single-camera comedy Sports Night before I realized that this two-season show was doomed from the start. It had an interesting premise- behind the scenes of an ESPN-style show. It even had a great cast of promising actors:

Felicity Huffman

Joshua Malina

Peter Krause

Josh Charles

1. The music did not fit the show
2.  It oddly reminded me of Melrose Place.
3. It was funny sad, not funny 'haha'
4. Awkward camera angles
5. The Sorkin "walk and talk." *
6. The love story that wasn't a love story
     Dana (Huffman) is the producer of the show and Casey (Krause) is the anchor. Casey gets divorced. Casey finally has a chance with Dana. Dana kisses Casey. Dana tells Casey he has to date other people because she can't be his rebound. This all happens over the first two episodes!

*Sorkin is big on passing from one location to another with a walk and dialogue. This builds a wonderful foundation for scenes in Gilmore Girls and Sorkin's movie The American President, but it is an over-used trope in this half-hour show.