BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Doctor with No Patience

Episode 310: “Patient X”

[photos: Ben Mark Holzberg/CW]

 

Episode 310 of Beauty and the Beast finally gives us something meatier. After weeks of cat and mouse with minions and distractions, Cat and Vincent learn a bit more about what Liam is about and what he’s after.  But just a bit.

Which means there is still more that will unfold over the three episodes that the CW has scheduled to finish out the season. And, with J.T. and Tess kinda, sorta, mostly back together, and Cat and Vincent back in synch, looks like love is on the upswing. And now I’ll go ahead and do what I do, i.e., give props where they’re deserved, and point out when the emperor ain’t got a stitch on.  Away we go…

Props:

• I realize I’m becoming completely redundant here and repeating myself (see what I just did there?), but I love how the writers have made a point of injecting normal, real-life activities into the portrayal of these characters.  I can’t remember what show I was watching the other day, but it occurred to me that I hadn’t ever seen one of the characters eat anything.  Ever. That realization made it particularly amusing to me when this most recent episode of BATB started with the simple act of Vincent coming home to his sweetie, pulling leftover Chinese out of the fridge, and scarfing it down hurriedly so he could go out again and do something else. Totally normal, relatable act. Makes it seem like we’re more a part of their world, because we do the same things.  And that, as Martha Stewart says, is a good thing.
• Cat accepts some responsibility for how things went bad the week prior, which was good. We don’t ever become smarter humans if we can’t look our mistakes straight on and learn from them.  But when she starts beating herself up a little too much, Vincent steps in and reminds her, “We are a team, there is no easy answer here.” Men, these are healing words. This is a bridge to your woman. Read this sentence, stow it away, and use it later. You will be glad you did.
• Cat and Vincent, who have frustrated me for most of the season due to their lack of working together, actually trust each other and work together for most of this episode. I felt a little disappointed when Vincent appeared to pooh-pooh Cat’s hunch about the hospice bombings (what kind of sicko bombs hospices, yo?), but when Vincent reveals later on that he actually read the file Cat had put together on the bombings, I was reminded that men work in mysterious ways, but they can still be quite noble and awesome.
• That Liam is a pretty clever bad guy. First, there’s the double-layered must-have-tenure-application-tonight trap, that was actually intended to lure Cat and Vincent away while Liam knocks off Alton. Then there’s the use of bombs. You don’t even have to get that close to guarded victims to knock them off.  Not that I’m actually recommending it as a means of problem resolution. You know, for the record.
• My BFF Tess has brothers and street smarts, so when J.T. fusses over the nasty hotel bed spreads, she scoffs at him: “You’re being chased by Liam the serum slayer, and you’re worried about the bed spread?” Yup, that’s my girl.
• J.T. and Tess, together during a moment of distress.  J.T.: “You still love me?” Tess: “No. Maybe.” This is what it sounds like when smart people flirt.
• The lion-zebra footage was hilarious. I would have the exact same heebie-jeebies that J.T. did upon said footage, given the context. The cheekier sense of humor this season…whom do I have to thank for that? I would like to send that writer some roses!
• Jay Ryan in a pair of glasses: never has nerd chic been more perfectly exemplified. I’m thoroughly considering getting my husband a pair of the same glasses. Who cares that my husband has perfect vision? Not I!
• Okay, I’ll finally cop to my appreciation for gore. I spent most of my late teens and 20’s watching both popular and obscure horror movies, and along the way, I really began to dig the effort that goes into the properly placed grotesque.  And darned if Crispy Russell doesn’t qualify. For a show that hasn’t always done a great job with special effects, Russell’s charred remains were awesomely executed.
• It’s tough writing a series that keeps audiences guessing every week, and the down side of that is I usually am able to anticipate what’s coming based on hints that are dropped along the way.  But with Liam, I’m still figuring it out, and I dig it.  He doesn’t want anyone else to be enhanced?  Vincent’s beast status changes everything? After attacking our four leads, he drops a “See you,” and dashes off? I’m puzzled…intrigued…dare I say, baffled? And that’s a good place to be.
• Tess: “I’m getting heat to solve the hospice bombings and brewery, my boyfriend is a super human target, and beasts are back.” Cat: “Boyfriend, huh? That’s a good sign.” More humor, and two girls totally talking to each other the way I talk to my own girls. And you know, that whole glass half-full thing. Way to focus on the positive, Cat!
• There is something about a running gag that totally tickles me. I don’t like bathroom or otherwise immature humor. Usually, it’s the intellectual humor, like wordplay, that really speaks to me, but I am a sucker for a running gag.  So when J.T. packs his bags to get moved around to yet another location, and the camera does a close-up on the two gummy worms bags, I had to give two enthusiastic thumbs up. For the record, I love Haribo gummy bears (although I could do without the red ones). but am not so much a fan of Trolli gummy worms. To each his own.

Less Decent:

• I was waiting for it all episode, and then, boom!  J.T. busts a nosebleed.  So bummer that I saw it coming.  The other down side…that dark little (okay, big) place in me is still harboring hopes that J.T.’s still super-human, but I certainly don’t want him to die a slow, quality-of-life-impacting death because of it. That said, I’m pretty sure Austin Basis isn’t going to be asked to leave the cast anytime soon. He’s the best marketing tool they have!
• J.T. kvetching about the abandoned brewery. Dude, you’re on the lam. You’ve been on the lam with Vincent for years. Crawling around dark, dreary places isn’t new. Lives are on the line. So, stop your whining.
• Was anybody actually surprised by the revelation that Liam is a beast? With all the footage of Liam sensing exactly like Vincent does, I thought that was just assumed.  So the big reveal was pretty anti-climatic, from my perspective.  The only thing that surprised me was that Vincent was surprised.  I thought his super beast senses enabled him to detect other beasts. Am I just remembering that wrong?
• With all the HIPAA and privacy protection laws, how was Cat able to find out that someone with Russell’s symptoms checked into a hospice in Queens? Pretty sure detectives wouldn’t be able to access that kind of info without a court order.
• Cat and Vincent talk about when Vincent was a predator. I don’t remember him being that way, unless we’re talking about when he was an assassin for Cat’s dad. In the early, pre-Cat days, he saved people to atone for his mindless acts of violence. When Cat came along, he became better able to control the mindless acts. When he worked for Cat’s dad, he was a stone-cold killing machine that performed without emotion. When did he actually ever enjoy the hunt? Am I just remembering things wrong as well?
• Am I the only one who thinks that Liam (Jason Gedrick) has so much hair, he looks like he’s wearing a wig? I know, I’ve been on a hair shtick lately. I do think KK’s hair looked better this episode. At least there’s that!

So all in all, a very solid episode. Let us know whether you agree or not. Comments always welcomed. See you guys on Thursday with Episode 311 “Unbreakable”: As Liam and Vincent clash, which one will give in more to his beast nature?

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