BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Destiny Is Not a Matter of Chance

Episode 313 (Finale): “Destined”

[photos: Ben Mark Holzberg/CW]

Hard to believe that season 3 of Beauty and the Beast has come to an end, but overall, a strong season and finale for this dearly loved little series on the CW.

Fans across the world are rejoicing that Detective Catherine Chandler and Dr. Vincent Keller finally tied the knot without any bloodshed, and can look forward to the next phase of their lives together. Of course, we got a little hint as to what season 4 holds for our little cast. So for this last episode, let’s break down to where the show deserves props, and where there are some growth opportunities, shall we?

The Greatness:

• The whole pepper spray schtick. First, Heather claims that Cat has a chance against Liam, because Heather is armed with pepper spray, and we’re all left thinking, “Right, Heather, you’re such a twit. Like pepper spray would have any impact whatsoever on Liam.” But beyond that, you probably didn’t think much more about it, did you? I didn’t. But then, it actually turns out useful…who knew? And just the act of spraying Liam was incredibly brave for a little fashionista, probably fueled in part by naiveté, but who cares? Then, you throw in Heather’s little deserved brag at the end around the shots-and-wings table, and what do you end up with? A mini story arc that shows us how it’s done.
• Vincent and Cat are doing a much better job of listening to each other and negotiating appropriately. Vincent is understandably pseudo-freaking out for most of the episode due to the threat of exposure, and what that’d mean for both him and Cat, but Cat does a great job of reasoning through the options throughout.
• When Liam attempts to frame Vincent for digging up the graveyard in the body, I thought to myself, “Surely there’s some way of being able to determine that Vincent isn’t the one who did that…tracking his cell phone to find out where he was…something.” And then Vincent says, “Do you see any dirt on me?” I love it when the writers address my concerns upfront with an obvious answer that I didn’t think of.
• Cat tells Tess that she thinks they should try to appeal to Liam’s humanity, and asks Tess if she thinks that’s crazy. The next thing you hear is J.T. saying to Vincent, “That’s the craziest thing I ever heard,” but on a slightly different topic. Clever and funny.
• You get framed a lot, Keller, says DHS. You do. You really, really do.
• I haven’t loved KK’s hair this season, but it looked much better this episode. Less PTA…not that there’s anything wrong with that.
• Cat: “Don’t freak out.” Feds: “About what?” Cat, cavalierly: “That.” I’m a big fan of casual introductions of the absurd.
• Liam’s super-secret underground lair is actually quite cozy. I think I could live there pretty comfortably.
• Russo plans to handle all the muck by mostly telling the truth. And that is how most lies, and fiction, are successfully told. Think about that kids as you’re writing your BATB fan fiction.
• Russo’s little comment, “The genie is out of the bottle.” Well, there you go, season 4 megaplot.
• The impromptu wedding on the rooftop was so adorable, I don’t even care that it wasn’t realistic (it wasn’t, though). Heather’s dress was so cute, “I promise to be your constant friend” was the best kind of sap, happy dancing, and their beautiful simple wedding bands were in keeping with their characters. A great, great way to wrap up the season.

The Areas of Opportunity:

• While J.T. is being arrested, he shakes his head at Vincent to tell him to remain hidden. Now, I haven’t been through the police academy, but I’m guessing that they tell you when you arrest someone, you need to pay close attention to their body language throughout the encounter, so you can address any mayhem early on. A head shake with intense eye gaze would have been picked up on in real life.
• DHS lets Vincent go to give him a day to think about it? They think he’s dangerous enough to have potentially committed all those crimes, but they let him go anyway? Somebody please tell me this is not really how DHS operates.
• J.T. tells Vincent during their little pep talk that Vincent hasn’t done anything wrong. But Vincent went off the rails last season, and appeared to do a number of things that made lots of viewers pretty unhappy. That’s a pretty bold statement from J.T., given Vincent’s murky past.
• It’s a little too convenient that Liam happens to pick Hernandez to kill. It would have been a much different episode if Russo died instead of Hernandez. Okay, granted, Liam had a 50-50 chance, but we’re talking about Liam here. Don’t you guys think that if he were keeping in character, he’d have offed both agents?
• J.T. runs into Vincent’s exam room, and tells the doc to stop paddling him so he can get the injection ready. Then once he’s done, he tells the doc to paddle Vincent, because he can’t heal the dead. Couldn’t the doc could have kept after it while you were prepping the shot, J.T.?
• I’m glad that KK knows martial arts and all, but her attack on Liam was like watching a Chihuahua go after a Great Dane. Just not terribly credible.
• When Heather hugs Vincent after his Lazarus episode, did it look like Jay Ryan got a little second base action as he’s pulling away? Awkward!
• The cut of Cat’s wedding dress was mostly cute. It could have been a little more fitted through the torso. But all that bedazzling? Uck. KK is so petite, and Cat dresses so simply and conservatively, that anything ornate looks really out of place on her. With so many beautiful wedding dresses out there, better wardrobe choices could have been made.

Thanks everyone for hanging out with me this season! Look forward to date nights with y’all again in the spring. Until then, have a wonderful fall, holiday season, and early 2016, and best wishes for health, prosperity, and plenty of love in your lives.

[Official Site for the Show] [Previous article on Beauty and the Beast]