BEAUTY & THE BEAST: Crimes of Passion
Episode 117: “Partners In Crime”
THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD!
[Photos: Ben Mark Holzberg/The CW]
Another plot-heavy and romance-lite Beauty & The Beast episode…A number of plot points occurred that helped moved the story line along, but it wasn’t as inherently interesting, in my view, as when Vincent and Cat get more time to develop their relationship. We’ll accept it as a necessary evil and move on.
When we last left our heroes, Tess was holding a gun on both Vincent and Cat. Although a relatively tense scene, Tess’s comment about Vincent Zalanski being a serial killer provided a brief comedic respite just before Tess calls for backup. Fortunately, all means of communication were squashed by her presence deep in the bowels of NYC, so Tess hightails it. Both Vincent (who’s a fast healer) and Cat chase after her, and bring her down. A brief attempt to explain the situation goes over poorly, but J.T. appears on the scene with a tranquilizer gun. ‘Night, ‘night, Vargas.
Although J.T.’s better sense tells them they should run, Cat’s loyalty (her gift, her curse) keeps her by Tess’s side, at least until Cat decides they’ll need to appeal to the black-and-white-minded cop in her if they’re to convince her. J.T. leaves to plant DNA evidence in the lab, Cat leaves to gather up the case files about the crimes Vincent’s been involved in. Unfortunately, Cat gets roped into a press conference called by Bishop, where she has to dodge a number of pointed questions about how she solved the case. ADA Lowan, suspicious by now about how Chandler broke the case, also presses Cat for answers, including Tess’s whereabouts. Feigning innocence, Cat offers to go by Tess’s apartment, and Lowan insists on going with. For a man who’s charming and handsome, he’s certainly infuriating and creepy.
Of course, Tess isn’t at her apartment, as she’s still down below. When she wakes, Vincent attempts to persuade her, but Tess will have none of it. She makes the connection that a year previously, the dead soldier’s fingerprints found at a murder scene were Vincent’s, and that Cat has been lying to Tess since. When Cat’s detained longer than Vincent anticipated, Vincent begs Tess to talk to Catherine and not to turn Catherine in. She appears to agree, and hastily departs.
At the lab, J.T. swings by to see “what the gnarly bastard looks like” (burnt-up flesh, mmmmm). Muirfield comes up a few times in conversation, giving J.T. opportunities to flash the Muirfield gang sign, lovable dork that he is. Cat stops in to borrow Evan’s Vigilante files, and distracts Evan long enough for J.T. to switch the DNA samples. Cat moves on, and J.T. realizes that Evan’s got a thing for Catherine. He does his awkward best to discourage Evan from pursuing anything with Cat.
Cat and Lowan finally get to Tess’s person-less apartment, where Cat and Lowan both accuse the other of hiding something. With the DNA results back from the lab and Cat claiming her challenges with Tess are personal, Lowan gives up for the moment and departs. Cat runs into Tess, and tries again to convince her about Vincent’s innocence, but Tess feels they should prove it in a court of law and that Cat has to turn Vincent in. Cat refuses to, Tess states they can’t be friends, and both actresses do a damn fine job of portraying stoic, principled, but torn women, both fighting for what they believe. As Cat drives off, Tess calls and requests backup from Garnett and Newell to go huntin’.
Cat catches up with J.T. and Vincent. As they prepare to leave, Cat confesses to Vincent that Tess said she’d cover for Cat only if Cat turned Vincent in. Vincent tries to convince Cat that it was the right thing to do, but Cat’s not about to consider that a serious option. I wouldn’t either. Have I mentioned I still have “We Are Stars” stuck in my head?
Tess, Garnett and Newell meet underground to search for Vincent. After Tess sees her two companions shoot rats and brandish cattle prods, Tess realizes how bad these bad guys are and pulls her gun on them. They shoot her, she falls and gets swept into a drain. The two goons continue with the hunt, and tangle with Cat and Vincent. Cat takes an awful hit to the throat, and Vincent goes down thanks to the cattle prod. Both goons get it in the end (of course!).
Given that Tess was the only one who knew where Cat and Vincent were, Cat reasons that Tess is underground somewhere. The lovers split up to look for her, and Vincent finds her just seconds before she drowns. He beasts the grate off the drain, and pulls her to safety. When Cat finds them both, she pulls a coughing and distraught Tess to her, and Tess responds in kind. Such a little gesture that speaks volumes. Back at Cat’s apartments, Tess dries out and assures Cat that she too is living in a world of grey, thanks to her affair with Bishop. After a brief Q&A, their relationship is mended, and Joe calls. Tess claims her call for backup was a false alarm, and that goons 1 and 2 never showed. All is momentarily right with the world.
Bishop gives Lowan a proper tongue-lashing over his harassment of Cat and the disappearance of his henchmen. Still suspicious, ADA Lowan heads down into the tunnels, and here’s where I have trouble. First, Lowan manages to go to the exact spot where goons 1 and 2 disappeared. Right. Second, he’s able to find a Vincent scratch on the wall straight away. Third, Lowan deduces Vincent is still alive. Wow, you were able to time stamp and DNA test that scratch without any equipment at all, Lowan? Amazing!
Cat and Vincent sneak in a little kissy face before the end of the episode (not enough to keep me from grumbling, just sayin’). Cat chides Vincent a little for trying to persuade her to separate, even though she understands his motivation, but tells him it’s not an option on the table. From the street level, Evan who has come to profess his love, spies them on Cat’s fire escape; it’s clear that the nature of their relationship is far from platonic. Full of the love drug, Vincent brazenly jumps off the fire escape onto a passing truck, and then to the street, in full view of Evan. So now Evan knows the real reason why “the creature” left DNA all over Cat’s scarf. Suddenly, all is not right with the world again.
In next week’s previews, it appears that Muirfield gets both Vincent and Catherine, and Evan appears hurt. How will our lovers get out of it? What will Tess’s new involvement look like? Where the heck has Heather been (I kinda miss that daffy chick)? And remember how Muirfield followed Alex out of town? What’s going on with her? Can you believe, just five episodes left!? And when will we get word about its renewal status? Big questions to resolve! See you next week when we tackle the next round!
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[Official Show on CW] [Previous Recap: “Insatiable”]
Liked the article! Very well written, intriguing… Loved the conclusion: all questions…That’s why we NEED MORE SEASONS!
this Ep was so Damn intente. BATB is only getting better and better. Yes. the start of the show was really slow but now episode after episode i get more and more obsessed. Sitting on the edge of my couch every Thursday. people really need to start watching this tv show if they like drama and a complicated love story. Amazing cast and crew. Congratulations to the cw for airing this amazing tv series.
Victoria and Maria, thank you SO much for commenting! Victoria, thank you for the kind compliment. I am constantly amazed at the generosity of the fans of this show. Maria, I agree that people need to start watching. From what I can tell from all the different people in the know, this show is in danger of being canceled, and THAT would lead to broken hearts across the globe! Gotta to get the word out!
Thank you, Leslie, for you comment! Nice to have people like you in #BATB Fandom!
Great review. Love your weekly rewiews – look forward to reading them each week. Yes, we definitely need more romantic VinCat!
You just got a new reader, i loved how you analized the episode…especially some details that i was What?? I will come back more often…
Great review as usual! Your comment about “(not enough to keep me from grumbling, just sayin’)” totally cracked me up! I completely agree! Good episode overall though.. Really does keep getting better and better (this 2nd half- post Alex-ick- is great!)! Hope it gets renewed-
Michael, Ana and Sugar, welcome, welcome! And thank you so much for the feedback. It makes me feel great to know there are like-minded peeps out there. Makes the world seem a little smaller! Hope to see you guys next week, too!
so…. I liked this episode a lot (more than last one and as much as the lovvy ones before). Ohh lots of thing I’d like to say, and therefore many that slip away before I can write them down!
I liked Tess, even despidte her story with Joe (a big personal NO NO for me) and now I feel at peace cause I can like her again.
ADA Lowan is evil sexy, but he needs to be stopped (Actually, as an old fan of heroes I like how he can play both the good and the bad). As for what he concludes in the end, I personally thought he must have seen something more than the scrathces on the wall, cause he says “he’s alive” after noticing something that is not shown to us. AND when Cat and Vince talk on the fire escape about the investigations on the bodies of the bad cops he says that “he and JT WILL make them disappear”… as in.. they didn’t take them out yet (what’s with the absence of care they have with corpses in this show??) So I guessed (but it would be soo stupid and careless) that that’s what Gabe saw, the bodies.
Evan… oh, poor chap. So handsome, so elegant, so in love…. so hurt. I already love the story between the wannabe lover and the actual lover. The preview of next episode promises loooooooooooots of excitement in that department.
JT has always the best timing in appearing, speaking, counseling. Loved the way he tried to talk Evan out of his love for Cat, so adorable!!
Angelica, I’ll have to go back and watch the fire escape scene, because I missed the “WILL” reference!
I love Tess, and while I agree that affairs are a ‘no’, I’ve had friends on both sides, i.e., the cheater, the cheatee. Lots of people get hurt, but I see it as a sign of human frailty. I don’t dislike people because of that mistake, but I do think it’s b/c of that personal experience I have with it. In any case, I’m glad Tess and Cat are friends again, especially since Cat never judged Tess for the Bishop issue. It will be interesting to see how/whether the relationship with Bishop ends.
Evan is a wonderful character, I love his back story. J.T. is wonderful, as well, I need to go back and watch some of his other stuff!
You’re right , I didn’t mean to judge but I ended up doing so. I have had two friends being the cheaters in such a situation and although our friendship didn’t suffer from that, I helped any way I could but never withholding my opinion.. I saw with my eyes how helpless one can be, and I thought of that when considering Tess story, therefore I mitigated my opinion. Still, the snobby righteous part of me has something against these issues. I’m an old fashioned Italian about it ahahahahahha. But I love how troubled the character ends to be.. And I hope the writers will explore that.
And… I just adore Cat. Till now she always did and most of all SAID the right thing in every situation.
AND I’m not judging you, my dear! (just for the record!) Now, don’t you wish you had writers scripting your lines for life? If I had $1 for every stupid thing I’ve ever said…
And for those I should have said! yeah.. I’d be millionaire!
i said i would come back and here I am. After I had watched this episode again and again, i guess i have a theory about Gabe and how he was so sure Vincent was still alive. Remember after that guys shot Tess? One of them said that Gabe knew they were in the tunnels and would cover for them. So, my guess he was already suspicious of Cat and Tess and after He talked with Joe, he was almost sure something wasn’t right, specially because Tess said his guys didn’t show up, when Gabe knew they did. So, when he saw that mark he put one and one together. Tess was down there and was rescued by Cat, his guys were missing and that mark proved to him that the “Vigilante” had been there. We don’t know how long he was there, but, probably his men had passed the location. Again, i loved your review and now i will read the others.
Ana, you are so smart! Thanks for connecting the dots that I missed. Please come back and visit often and keep me honest!
yes yes I like Ana’s analysis!
You guys are both smart cookies. I have to make sure I’m on top of my game to make sure I’m as smart as my readers!