BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Out of the Bag and into the Fire

Episode 309: “Cat’s Out of the Bag”

[photos: Ben Mark Holzberg/CW]

Episode 309 of Beauty and the Beast sees Cat and Vincent flip-flop all over the place. Will they go after Liam or won’t they? Is it their responsibility to deal with beast/super-human issues? Should they involve the cops? Are they destined to not only be together, but also to do more? These guys change positions more than…well, I’m sure there’s a dirty joke in there somewhere.

Fortunately for all concerned, Cat and Vincent are back in synch at the end, because as J.T. says, bad things happen when Cat and Vincent aren’t in synch! So I’ll confess that I found a lot of the will they/won’t they, it’s destiny/it’s not destiny to be overwrought. In some cases, the destiny logic didn’t even make sense.  That said, a number of things occurred that carried the episode.  Let’s break it down…

Decent:

• I work pretty hard, but when Cat goes back to detective work the day after her botched wedding, I realized that Cat’s got bigger moxie than I do. Girl, you’re hard-core. And I think that presents a great example to women everywhere.  When fit hits the shan, you can sit, mope, watch terrible TV, and eat ice cream, or you can get back to the business of taking care of business. I know what I’m voting for next time.
• Cat admits that the reason she wants to quit hunting for Liam and handling beast matters is because she’s scared. In my book, it takes a very brave person to admit she’s scared.  More awesomeness.
• Cat says, “We save innocent people every day, you as a doctor as me as a cop.” Here’s another example of this series that has recently done a really great job of celebrating the amazing things that normal people do. And darned if doctors and cops both don’t do amazing things every day.  I mean, sure, we hear about bad examples all the time, and those situations are definitely sad and frustrating. But the flip side of that is we maybe take the day-to-day work that doctors and policemen do, which is saving lives, for granted. Food for thought.
• Vincent:”Whose side are you on?” J.T.: “It’s not like her argument doesn’t have merit.” J.T., as a man of logic and reason (most of the time), is suggesting that a female character is also using logic and reason.  And he’s not sleeping with her. How often do you see men propping up female characters on TV shows like that? I dig it.
• Cat decides to tell the chief (most of) the truth, in order to throw suspicion off themselves about Juliana’s murder at Cat’s wedding. Clever girl, that Cat.
• “Don’t make me arrest you, honey.” Why, oh why don’t I have this in my arsenal of argument-winners with my own husband? Well, I suppose it’s because I’m not a detective. I really should have done better career planning. Tres amusing.
• Tess: “I don’t think you’re thinking this through.” What better way of gingerly, yet unequivocally setting your girlfriend straight (or trying to)? More proof that Tess is the very best BFF of all time.
• I rationally understand that Heather, just by virtue of being affected by Cat’s crazy life, has skin in the game. But dang if her buttinsky ways don’t annoy the holy heck out of me at times. So when Vincent puts the smackdown on Heather after she inserts herself into the “plan of attack” conversation, I definitely experienced more than a little schadenfreude. Heather, you might just stop and consider that just because you can talk doesn’t mean you should.
• Cat: “We need to talk.” Uh, sorry fellas, but when your woman says those four little words, fear should strike your heart, and you should immediately begin to back-pedal.
• Not only does Cat decide to give the truth to the chief, but she decides to give the Juliana/Liam case back to DHS. Another clever move because it’s so straightforward, it’s clandestine.
• I mentioned already that some of the destiny talk began to work my nerves because it’s just so out there, but the writers did a good job of responding to that very probable response from the audience…Heather: “Destiny.  All sounds all so far-fetched.” J.T.: “Like beasts and super humans aren’t?”  And then, J.T. later: “If you don’t believe in destiny, then it’s one big fluke, which is harder to believe.” BATB writers, thanks for helping me suspend my disbelief.
• J.T. uses a video game as a distraction and a decoy to the marauders in his pad. Sheer genius. Hypothetical attackers in my own personal casa are going to be so screwed, because while we may not have any weapons or fighting skills, video games we do have in abundance.
• Cat and Tess take out the bad guy creeping up on Vincent from behind, and just go to show that plain ol’ human women can be BA’s, too.
• “The only reason I listened to you before was for sex.” Tess Vargas, honorary Ph.D. in Sarcasm. And my role model.

Less Decent:

• Why is it always that what Cat says goes? I don’t think it’s fair that she dictates what everyone else in the group does. Yes, Vincent gave her the verbal okay at the end of the episode (I’ll do whatever you want as long as we do it together shtick), but he shouldn’t have to be a push-over just to preserve the peace.
• Really, Cat, you’re going to bring Vincent in for questioning? I get that you’re posturing a little bit, but that’s over the top. And rude. Tess called you out for it, and she was right on.
• Aforementioned annoying Heather sticking her nose in moment. Ugh. A little Heather goes a long way.
• There was a scene with a doctor telling Vincent that he had minor cuts and scrapes and nothing more serious. What was the point of that? It added no value to the episode at all. Extra minutes to the run time?
• While we are on the topic, I’m not sure that the scene with Cat’s dad added anything either. He’s just annoying.
• Okay, I’m going to say it. I don’t love Kristin’s hair this season. Don’t get me wrong. KK is gorgeous, and on her worst day, she kicks my butt on my best day. But we’ve seen her wear her hair any number of ways since the start of the show, and I think her current style is the least flattering one we’ve seen.
• Cat states that she and Vincent had made love on their rooftop…where were the freaking cameras? We have not gotten very much romance in this romantic science fiction drama this season, and I think the writers need to remember that we like intrigue, sure, but we also want to see a little lovin’.

So based on the above, this episode had a few funny and smart things going for it, yet a little room for improvement. If you agree, let us know; and if you disagree, let us know that too…nicely! See that comment box down below there? That’s where you do your thing. I’ll catch you guys again on Thursday with Episode 310 “Patient X”: Cat, Vincent, and Tess work to keep the cops and J.T. both safe while still continuing their hunt for Liam.

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