Once Upon A Time 4.18 "Heart of Gold" Review

A return to Robin (Sean Maguire) and Marian (Christie Laing) and the time he opened a tavern which would've been exactly where Will (Michael Socha) would've spent time!  Ha.  As the Sheriff  of Nottingham (Wil Travel) comes to collect taxes and threatens him with a penalty, not to mention how Marian would run to him cos she's be penniless and on the streets.  Cue Rumples (Robert Carlyle) with a proposition in return for some gold straw.  This entails going to Oz to get him some potion which will help hearts to heal, whereupon, he chances upon Will.  Robin having saved him from the guard when the portal door landed on him, not that again, one use on a witch was enough.  Wasn't it. Robin disguises himself as a guard, gets to the city, almost steals the potion before he's caught by Zelena (Rebecca Mader).  Begging the question of where exactly were the flying minkeys (as Inspector Clouseau would say) and Zelena's ability to see off any and all intruders before they arrived.  After a fight Robin manages to get away.

So how did Zelena get to be Marian, obviously it was after this since Marian hadn't been killed yet by Regina (Lana Parilla) in that timeline.  As well as Zelena being frozen by the Snow Queen's spell. Does this mean when true love's kiss didn't work on her it was cos she was Zelena all this time, whereas they thought it was cos Robin loved Regina, which he did, but here's another explanation no one thought about until the later reveal perhaps.  Yet the Snow Queen's magic worked on Zelena and she wasn't able to counteract it.  Not to mention Regina really having Zelena's heart in her hand and having to put it back!!  That could've been crushed so easily, oh if only she was evil and just went for it.  No one would have to suffer Zelena.  Then the other point I'll mention quickly is how Regina gave up Robin when Marian was so gung ho in doing the decent thing and stepping aside.  All a ruse and playing Regina so masterfully.  (Then again Robin didn't even realize he wasn't kissing his own wife everytime they got close!)

Robin gives Will the potion so he can mend his heart after losing his 'sister'.  I still want to know what he was doing with the Alice In Wonderland too in the library and the Red Queen's picture.  Wasn't that meant to be explored.  I mean I know it was cos of Once Upon A Time In Wonderland and the Red Queen was his true love, but not everyone's seen that.  Robin realizes all he has to do is steal from the rich to give to the poor, thus stealing the Sheriff's money and hide from Rumples.  But how could he, that imp gets everywhere.  Probably another reason why he ended up at Rumple's castle when he came to steal from there.  Clearly they must've had past dealings, or was that before he was married.

Anyway Emma (Jennifer Morrison) berates her parents for stealing another baby to ensure she wasn't dark and they need to accept what they've done. Considering she went to prison for a lesser crime. Gold finds Robin at Neil's apartment and suffers a heart attack.  He asks Robin for the potion which is found at a shop belonging to Walsh, aka The Wizard, aka the flying minkey and he manages to steal the potion for him to get better.  Not without complications though and Robin wanting Neil's apartment.  You see Zelena reveals herself with the help of the necklace, since leaf clover was it, which Marian wore.  She actually gave Gold a placebo, yeah cos Marian could've really found another heart-shaped bottle at such short notice and had the cunning to substitute it.  Which isn't surprising since Robin didn't have the cunning to realize Marian was off!

However Gold manages to get his number from Regina's pocket and blackmails her erasing Robin's number.  As if Emma couldn't get it again.  He does get his comeuppance when he is rumbled (should that be rumpled) by Zelena and has to agree to let her get her wicked, wicked ways, with Robin and Regina.  Jumping forward, the news of her being pregnant, well that could heave been a magic baby or a trick. Anyhoo, she calls Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) the Saviour's "one handed lover". Trying to be snarky or what! Well it didn't work, she's as evil as ever and not funny at all.

The Musketeers 3.6 "Death of A Hero" Review

                                          
Feron (Rupet Everett) and Grimaud (Matthew McNulty) hatch a plan to let Gaston (Andre Flynn) escape and use his armies to take over France, with Gaston becoming king.  As Feron writes a letter and signs it with Treville's (Hugo Speer) name in an attempt to catch the Musketeers off guard, a divide and conquer strategy, but more like divide and kill. What was ironic as we'll see by ep's end is what Feron narrates in the opening scene about dying, not knowing when it can happen, but it will happen to anyone and everyone, rich or poor, or dauphin and it will be least expected since we are all living.  As we see the Musketeers going about their normal lives, D'Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino) being shaved by Constance (Tamla Kari) whilst in the bath, Athos (Tom Burke) and Sylvie (Thalissa Teiexeira) getting together, Porthos (Howard Charles) and Aramis (Santiago Cabrera) making money with him shooting bottles in  he air blindfolded.

The letter arrives and they must leave to find a general's aide by meeting in a rural place and D'Artagnan thinks they should get Athos too but Aramis asks how long it'll take for them to get him here, as he's indisposed and off course has his guard down, including his pants too!  Ha. As they ride away, and Athos wants to spend more time with her, she goes for breakfast and spots Grimaud in the crowd, well he gets around doesn't he.  He heads to her house and aims to kill off Athos, who spots him in the mirror and they fight.  However he gets the better of Athos and Sylvie takes two shots at him, saving him and leaving Grimaud to die, or as dead, but when they arrive there he's gone with just a pool of blood remaining.

As the others ride, they are stopped by Georges Marcheaux (Matt Stokoe) who has orders from the king (Ryan Gage) to take Aramis back with him.  This order comes directly from the king himself and he wants Aramis to accompany him on a pilgrimage and also to his father's tomb, as it's the anniversary of his father's death, but he doesn't want Anne (Alexandra Dowling) to come with him. She's despondent and alone and confides in Constance who tells her that he will treat the dauphin as his own son and she has nothing to worry about.

Treville and Athos see the letter which Treville says he didn't write which means the others are in danger and they ride out with the cadets.  As Porthos and D'Artagnan reach the rendezvous, they think it strange that a general's aide would meet in such a place, thought Don Quixote here as they rode out into the fields.  Porthos finds a casket of wine and is able to console himself as he waits, hey drinking on the job!  Ha.  Soon there's commotion and they realize it's a trap, as they're surrounded by men.  D'Artagnan rolls out his barrel of wine and Porthos tries to stop him as the barrel is shot to pieces.  Confirming their suspicions, but they're out of ammunition very soon, but they're able to take down as many men as possible.

Feron disguises Gaston as a guard and takes him to a hideout where he'll be known as Victor by Grimaud's men.  As Grimaud tends to his own wounds, he later plots that Feron needs to kill Louis now, even if he is dying.  Louis gives away money at churches in the hopes of some sort of absolution and he insists on going to the mausoleum.   Here he challenges Aramis to admit the truth and he refuses, but Louis is determined to have his confession, which he gives.  He tells him he'll be hanged for treason.

Louis hears Feron behind him and tells him he remembered their father's death too, then confesses he's his blood brother and the only one he can trust who hasn't betrayed him.  As Feron can't go through with the dastardly plan of stabbing him in the back.  Louis shows him a tombstone with Feron's name on it and Feron is moved by it.  He wants him to be the dauphin's guardian and guide him when he's gone.

Porthos and D'Artagnan are out of ammo and make a decision they're not ready to die here and shout it out, cos D'Artagnan wants to see Constance's face once more and he wants to see the faces of his unborn children, a marked contrast to what Constance told Anne, that she doesn't want children cos she doesn't want to be a widow and raise orphans.
D'Artagnan: "You know we're not going to die today."
Porthos: "You might want to tell them that."

Grimaud who once again gets around, sets gunpowder to explode them inside the building, as they get ready to charge out of there, however they're too late and the building explodes.  As the others arrive, Grimaud gets away again, what has he got nine lives or something and he returns to the mausoleum.  Here Feron tells him he didn't go through with it and he's betraying Grimaud but Feron didn't calculate Grimaud's treachery and stopping at nothing.  He stabs him and Feron finally reaches and fires his gun to warn Louis.

Louis wants a pistol from Aramis to fight them off too and finally they arrive to save the day, but Grimaud gets away again and Aramis's shot doesn't manage to stop him.  He takes Gaston with him   as they ride away.  Louis finds Grimaud calling him a hero and he tells Aramis he'll never see his son again, not even when he is dead nor his wife.  Aramis tells the others Louis is dying and Athos wants to know why Treville didn't tell him so he could double the guard for Gaston.  As they now need to battle an invading army.  Aramis tells Anne of Louis and how she needs to be strong for her son and for France and face her enemies.

Plenty happening in this episode and it seems Feron got away with his betrayals, dying a hero's death, or so-called hero's at least, hence the title.  Seems they were caught off guard with everything that happened, especially Athos who was too busy amusing himself with Sylvie, which he promises Treville will never happen again.  

Feron: "The day you die is just like every other day.  You wake and dress and eat and drink.  Just like every other day.  You don't see death coming.  Or hear its approach, cos you are too busy living.  Too busy enjoying your life.  Sating your appetites.  Rich man or beggar, it does not discriminate.  Death doesn't care about fleeing your demons, or making amends for them.  It doesn't care about any of that. It cares only that this is your time.  Your day to die.  And this is the Musketeer's day."  Well that right royally backfired for him and for Grimaud!

Longmire 4.10 "What Happens on the Rez" Review

                                           
Henry (Lou Diamond Phillips) wakes at the Crow Medicine Woman's (Tantoo Cardinal) cabin and she tells him he should've told her about Gab (Julia Jones) first.  He's in pain after being shot as he tells her and she gives him some ibuprofen which is good for pain.  She gives Gab a false passport and driving licence, matching her likeness to the photos and she tells Henry never to come back here anymore.  He needs to go back and take the car back, or Mandy (Tamara Duarte) will tell the sheriff, as well as his own truck which he left behind with blood.  More's the pity as we know exactly what will happen to Henry and exactly where he's heading again.  Cady's (Cassidy Freeman) no help either as she's already put her foot in it and landed him in it too when she lies to Walt (Robert Taylor) telling him she saw Gab walking but she was alone.  Of course Henry didn't listen to his messages either when he returned and called Walt to report his truck as missing.  Still at least his phone still had battery!

Cady finds Eamon (Josh Cooke) at her place and she has work to do but she covers for Vic (Katee Sackhoff) when Walt comes by and asks her about Gab again and still she doesn't say anything. When Henry returns the car he's seen by Mnady's boyfriend  and Walker Browning (Callum Keith Rennie) who beat him up and want him to admit he knows where Gab is.  He refuses and Ruby (Louanne Stephens) calls in Walt.  When they arrive, they find Henry still on the ground and Mandy's boyfriend tells him what Gab said about reporting him for rape as well if she didn't give her the car.  Walt tells Walker he can't arrest Henry cos this is the Rez and it's out of his jurisdiction.  Which Walker isn't happy about but then he and his men think they can get away with anything including murder and rape right there on the Rez.  Walt asks Henry if he wants him to take him to the tribal police or if he wants Walker to do it.  Of course Walker will pin the other murder onto Gab as well since he can.  He later turns up at the office again telling them to release Trot (Aaron McPherson) cos they have no evidence to hold him for murder.  Or he threatens Walt with a lawsuit for corruption and abuse of power and he doesn't need that right now.  Henry doesn't tell him anything about Gab but says that he saw her yesterday as he was walking with her and Cady can confirm this. Oops caught in a lie!

Walt doesn't need that cos Zach (Barry Sloane) wants to tell him what happened with Monte (Stephen Louis Grush) before he can and watches out for Walt, but he's too late as Monte already gets to him, telling him he wants to file a formal complaint and Ferg (Adam Bartley) will take down the details. Zach tries to explain what he did and why he did it, but Walt doesn't want to hear it cos he didn't have probable cause to just barge in there and what he saw is illegally obtained.  He tells Zach he's already gotten into a fight at the oil field when he arrived and now this.  Zach once told him he wanted to prevent trouble before it happens and so that's what Walt's doing now as he asks for his badge and gun.  Ferg tells Walt he's done the wrong thing later and says he didn't give Zach a fair go when he arrived but he's good at his job.

Walt apologizes to Monte who accepts but he asks what's in it for him if he drops the charges against Zach.  Walt replies nothing which means Monte can't add bribery to the lawsuit against him.  Walt is being sued by Barlow Connolly, which is  kinda silly, okay he's dead but guess the lawsuit is in the name of his estate.  Walt tells Vic about this as a man thinks he's found Henry's truck.  He's not worried cos the FBI cleared him for Barlow but it'll just take a lot of time.  She says that's not easy when they're down in staff and then mentions she and Eamon are in a relationship and sleeping together, so he can't really hire him.  He doesn't say anything and she expected him to respond and ask questions.  But we know Walt isn't a man of questions or answers, but he's really not interested in her.  So she doesn't give up pursuing him and makes a point of embarrassing herself in the process too, not that she sees it that way.  I mean really, she's practically throwing herself at him!  She then asks how long he's been seeing the psychiatrist, Doc Donna Sue (Ally Walker) and he replies that's none of her business either and he does refer to it as a relationship.  She tells him not to walk away from her and he says he's walking away from the truck cos it's not Henry's.

Ruby gets hold of Walt on the radio this time, did she know he'd be in the truck and doesn't call Vic one her phone.  Anyway Donna Sue's truck has been burnt out and he thinks it might be her patient. She refuses to name her patient cos she hasn't seen him for days so doesn't know what sort of a place he's in.  Vic finds that absurd and points it out.  She takes Eamon for that home cooked meal she never made him and tells him about refusing the job on his behalf cos they wouldn't be able to see each other.  He tells her they're not in a relationship and he might lose his job over his unethical boss who he found out about and she shouldn't have done that for him.  Bringing up Walt not wanting him around cos he was jealous and she needs to figure out where she is first before they can have any sort of a relationship.

Cady has a new client, Calvin Blackwolf (Geno Segers) who was fired from his job at the casino, well wrongfully dismissed and she  meets with Knighthorse (A Martinez) to discuss it with him.  He says Malachi fired him cos he replaced him at the table when there were high tippers playing and he could've used the tips.  Knighthorse finds it amazing that Cady is using elegant words but has the same attitude and intentions as Walt.  Next time they meet he says he wants her to represent the Cheyenne nation and the people who can't and don't know the law.  He wanted this casino cos he could give something back to the people, build schools and hospitals and he wants to begin a legal aid centre which he'll fund and he wants her to run it.  She thinks he's bribing her cos of the case but he says Calvin can have his job back, he shouldn't have been fired and she accepts his offer later, giving her $750,000.

Knighthorse also calls on Henry asking for his help in finding where Malachi (Graham Greene) is laundering money.  They can put him in prison and he won't be able to keep the Red Pony, so he'll get his business back and he'll help him keep the casino in the process.  Walker wants to know where Gab is and beats up Mandy who goes to Walt to warn him.  Henry tells him where Gab is and he follows his map.  He finds her in the medicine wheel and he tells her maybe the ancestors found a way of helping her through Henry and Walt is her protector.  Showing her the map Henry drew him.  As they leave, Walker and his men stop them and he plans on shooting Walt if he doesn't hand over Gab. Walt gets help from Henry of course and he shoots one of the men, allowing Walt to wound Walker and Gab runs away.  The medicine woman tells Walt that Gab's not here since she turned into a hawk, she was always a hawk.  He asks if she shot the man and then he says he can't find Gab cos she's a hawk so he has no jurisdiction.

As Henry goes back, he's stopped by Mathias (Zahn McClarnon) who is in his truck.  Henry asks how he can replay him and he replies "in blood."  He arrests Henry and will take him to the Rez.  But as he told Walker earlier, there's not much he can do since he can only deal with misdemeanours and trivial crimes.  And Gab did shoot him on the Rez and Henry isn't guilty of shooting him either, even if he did help Gab.  No to mention he just saved Walt.

Ferg tells Zach he's sorry he was fired and Zach just wanted to help people.  He's gone back to drinking again.  Ferg says he saw what he found on him and Monte took the statement he made about Walt out of context, which was apparent and later Zach turns up missing as Ferg tries to call him. Walt sees Donna Sue and they share a beer as she asks him to play the piano.  They finally get together, being shortlived no doubt, since we see the burnt out truck and Walker's missing from the hospital, they have a shortage of staff so no one was there keeping an eye on him.  Heck he probably wasn't even handcuffed to the bed.  As Walt's door is burst open.  Couldn't even enjoy his moment!

So several scenarios set up for season 5 and we know Netflix have a season 5 of the show, which is always good to hear.  Is that Walker gunning for Walt or the doc's jealous patient.  What's going to happen to Henry and how much can Cady do, sure Walt will have plenty to say about the matter. Hopefully things won't be awkward between him and Vic cos she's said her piece and we get to put it behind us now.  Also he's got the lawsuit to contend with.  I liked how Cady backed herself out of a corner by saying that she and Henry didn't dissolve their relationship as lawyer/client and so still have privilege, telling him what Henry said or of she saw him would lead to her being disbarred.  At least   she got out of that.  Always expect a lot from this show and it always delivers and never fails to disappoint.  A great scene where Mathias calls Henry "Hector."  And Henry caught with his pants down again ha! Well, almost!

An appropriate title too since everything did happen on the Rez and there's not much Mathias can do about it, which he spells out to Walker as well.  What happens on the Rez, stays on the Rez and he should've known that with his men getting away with all sorts of serious crimes.

The Musketeers 3.5 "To Play The King" Review

                                           
Prisoners escape as the guards let them out since Grimaud (Matthew McNulty) wants to raid Louis's (Ryan Gage) gold which is found under the prison.  To do this he also needs a prisoner, Joubert (Iain McKee) as he built the foolproof door to the room housing the gold.  The Musketeers are needed to help round the prisoners up and Georges Marcheaux (Matt Stokoe) tells them not to bring them back until the first bell at noon, which would've got me thinking why, but none of them questioned it. They take them back to the garrison, but some are still out there, including one who is delusional and thinks he's the real king.  Joubert doesn't want to help, but he is coerced into it since they have his wife Annabelle (Naomi Radcliffe) and Grimaud shows him her key necklace.  Joubert needs materials to help him make a key and doesn't know how long it will take.

In the meantime, Louis plans a lavish birthday party for the dauphin as this will be the last birthday he has with him, which he expects Feron (Rupert Everett) to pay for.  However Feron is bankrupt and the Dutch minister, Van Laar (Allan Corduner) returns to collect the interest on the loan, which Feron has ignored as he's ignoring him too.  He talks with Treville (Hugo Speer) who doesn't know of this and he confronts Feron, who tells him it's a personal matter between him and the king, Treville isn't family.  In which case Treville tells him he won't object if he leaves the letters for the king.  Feron tries to get the letters back, but he is interrupted by the dauphin and Anne (Alexandra Dowling) as he tells her he and the dauphin were playing a game.  He has to leave and the letter remains behind.

Feron invites Van Laar to his chamber where he tells him to forget the money and to leave, he refuses and so Feron kills him.  Using that knife comes so easy to him and has to get Georges to dispose of   the body.  However in the process, he forgets to tell Georges that the prisoners mustn't be returned until the evening bell otherwise Grimaud and his men won't be able to leave.  As they round up more prisoners, D'Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino) goes after the fake king and he tells him about a plot to steal the king's gold, which he ignores thinking it's just the rantings of a mad man, he was at a battle and is a soldier.  D'Artagnan takes him to a church where he leaves him with the nuns.  Later finding out that he's a murderer and killed a guard at the prison.  As they arrive at the church, it's too late and the nuns are dead.  They fear he 'll head to he palace.

Which he does and he gets into Louis's chamber and burns Feron's letter in a twist of fate.  Louis wants people to pay homage to his son, beginning with Feron and he collapses and falls, Louis saying he's embarrassing them.  The Musketeers learn of the gold plot and head to the prison, after Aramis (Santiago Cabrera) rescues Annabelle with Constance (Tamla Kari) and she tells them what's happening.  At the prison, the prisoners are returned and Georges tells Grimaud no one gave him the message.  The men hide out and as they fight the men, Grimaud gets away again even after Aramis gives chase.

Heading to the palace, they search for the prisoner as he has Anne and she leads him to the gardens.  Aramis saves her as the prisoner fires at her and D'Artagnan shoots him.  He later regrets having to shoot a mad man but it's what he had to do.  Giving Athos (Tom Burke) the idea that he wants to be with Sylvie (Thalissa Teixeira) and he goes to her.  Louis asks if Anne is hurt and she replies the Musketeers saved her.  Though he's not happy to see Aramis there.

Once again Grimaud gets away and so does Feron since Georges left Van Laar's body in the garden, they think the mad prisoner killed him, as well as having the letter burnt too, but his luck can only last for so long and that goes for Grimaud too.  They can't get rid of him just yet since he's their main adversary this series, but he does get away with anything and everything.  The venom and contempt of Louis against Anne and Aramis is always on display and even though he dotes on the dauphin, he's always reminded of her betrayal and that of his Musketeer.

The Musketeers 3.4 "The Queen's Diamonds" Review

                                         
A woman is robbed of her jewels, who turns out to be Henrietta Marie (Olivia Poulet) Louis's (Ryan Gage) sister and Queen of England, as she's in France raising funds to fight Cromwell in the civil war, but can't do that now until she gets her jewels back.  The task given to the Musketeers.  Sylvie (Thalissa Teixeria) is angry that Athos (Tom Burke) has to find them whilst the poor people can't even feed their own children, but those are his orders.  Which puts a dampener on their impending relationship, which really seems to be based on mutual attraction (lust) rather than anything meaningful.  He can't condone what she's doing as she still continues with her meetings advocating liberty and egalite which the Musketeers see as sedition and treason.  However she doesn't and still continues with it.  She wants him to attend a meeting but he can't do that and put himself in   the middle of it all.  His allegiance is to king and country.  She finds it difficult that she can't get to know him until he gets to know her.  Also he has to leave before they get to be together.
Porthos: "Only an idiot would stay in Paris after robbing the king's sister."
D'Artagnan: "Two words: needle, haystack."
Athos: "...move now."
Aramis: "I've got two better ones: coitus interruptus."

They find that the thief is Emile Bonnaire (James Callis) who they give chase to through the marketplace and find him in a wagon carrying the dead, where he dumps his pouch.  Having to go on a jewel hunt with him as he's sold the jewels to several people.  The first one is a rich woman who as D'Artagnan finds out plaits the jewels into the tail of her horse who is named Serena, after she's introduced all her daughters to him, he asks if she has anymore and is slapped.  A bit like the scene were the prince searches for Cinderella using the slipper.  They have to ensnare the horse and get the jewels out of the tail, but none of them can manage it.  Athos suggests they shoot the horse and D'Artagnan stops him and puts the rope around his neck, forgetting he used to be a farmer, which is what I said.  Bonnaire cuts the hair from the tail and Porthos (Howard Charles) throws a diamond into the field where the poor workers are toiling, saying they'll find it.

Henrietta is ungrateful as it's not much and she has to meet the Dutch financier, Van Laar (Allan Corduner).  Louis suggests Feron (Rupert Everett) go instead and tell him she's been delayed, where he hatches his own plot to get a loan for himself under Louis's name, saying he wants to buy Anne (Alexandra Dowling) a necklace, as Feron has his own debts to contend with.  The next set of jewels aren't so easy to gather and the man isn't very reputable.  Bonnaire has a plan to use some English phrase if things go awry.  Which they do and we have the Musketeers having to fight for the jewels.  D'Artagnan is gotten the better of after the man's stabbed and thrown Bonnaire out of the window.  But manages to fire a shot saving D'Artagnan.

They take him before Louis after Porthos tends to his wound and he escapes his chains, after telling Constance (Tamla Kari) he was a gardener and he loves his wife.  He asks Henrietta not to kill him cos he can double her money, which Louis thinks is a good idea, as he has the money he was paid for the jewels.  This means her money's doubled already and she finds out that Caroline (Sarah Smart) is his wife, Henrietta's Lady in Waiting.  He'll get the money if she agrees to let them go, which she does, as long as he never returns to France.  Yes but this isn't her country now and she's not ruler of it to send him into exile.  At the pit where the bodies are buried they find his pouch and each of the Musketeers must decide if they will let him go and they do.

Aramis (Santiago Cabrera) meets someone, Pauline (Laura Haddock) he used to know from his past, as she's with another man on the street.  She hands out money to a former soldier and says they must if they can.
D'Artagnan: Once day you [Aramis] will write your memoirs and there will be a woman's name on every page."  And Pauline's name will be on the first page as he tells him.
She's engaged to St Pierre (Paul McGann) and later she tells Aramis that she's being blackmailed.  He tells Constance that Pauline was a prostitute, just like his mother and they grew up together, who did her best for her children.  Telling Constance that his mother, was his mother and nothing less. She takes him back to meet St Pierre and to find the blackmailer, telling her fiance Aramis is going to give her away.  Aramis spots the stable boy as the blackmailer and tries to reason with him.  But he's protecting St Pierre.

Pauline refuses to come clean about her past and doesn't listen to Aramis.  As the others arrive to retrieve the blue diamond which is still missing and is given to Pauline in a ring, by St Pierre.  He refuses to give it up. She later kills the stable boy and still wants Aramis to give her away with blood on her dress, as they realize what she's done.  It was all so pointless really and hiding her past too, having to resort to murder now.
Pauline gives them the ring as Aramis tells Athos not to order him to take it cos he won't follow orders, Porthos walks off to let them sort it out and Athos says Aramis is his penance, with Porthos agreeing, he's his penance too.

Feron and Grimaud (Matthew McNulty) still plot some more as Grimaud sneaks around the place, Feron calling him "a serpent in the night."  As he also tried to give money to Sylvie for her cause and for the people.  Telling her he knows what it's like to have nothing, but she refuses to take it.   Was that another way of getting into her good books, or just a way to trap her for what she's doing, like I said she gets around.  Don't; think Grimaud has it in him to give away money out of the 'goodness' of his heart, no good and no heart!  Ha.

Supernatural 11.23 "Alpha and Omega" Review (Of Sorts)

                                       

Sam: "...anything is better than this."

Supernatural always has the same finales which always leave you gasping. It's been the same over the ten seasons.  Dean (Jensen Ackles) saving Sam (Jared Padalecki) and vice versa, getting saved by others, suffering the car accident, losing Dad.  Yet season 11 was altogether different, now that the Darkness was unleashed at season 10's end, it was now on the brothers to end the reign and save the world once more.  However this finale seemed a little bittersweet.  If it was so easy for Amara (Emily Swallow) and Chuck (Rob Benedict) to just make up cos Dean talked about family and how he and Sam always fight, but make-up, then how easy would it have been to end that storyline quicksmart, instead of it wavering for an entire season.  Granted there were stand alone eps, as there always were and have been, but it's surprising it took love of her family for Amara to wake up to herself.  The bottom line is always love in this show and always has been.  No matter if it's for mother, father, brother or any loved one.  Yet whilst Dean got to play hero and save the world, he was the bomb and only him, though it did get to a point where it was pointless, since she already knew why he was here. But he also got to see Mom (Samantha Smith).

That was foreshadowing since they don't and have never visited Mom's grave in a finale, ever.  Yet this time Dean and Sam wanted to go there, one last time perhaps and this from Dean who didn't even want to go there in the ep 2.4 Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things yet he did and here they did so.  Also the way in which Sam touched her headstone, as if that would help her, little did he know she would be back since Amara tells Dean she'll give him back something he needs, as he gave her back Chuck. Instead of Dean saying goodbye to Sam in the Impala and talking as they always do, Dean was having a heart to heart with Cas (Misha Collins) when he was going for the beer run.  So Dean found Mom and how easy was it for Amara to bring her back for him.  Yet once again put upon Sam didn't get his wish for Mom to return (he must've wished this a thousand times and prayed for her since he didn't know her and prayer was his personal salvation) and helping Chuck, who when he recovered could've been the one to grant this.  Is there some underlying reason for this and is Mom really Mom?

What did Sam get, Sam got that insufferable Valerie from The Vampire Diaries!  Huh just when I thought she'd gone for good, we have to see her in my fave show as a Woman of Letters: The London Chapter!  What does she do, she shoots Sam cos she was ordered.  NO ifs no buts (hope she gets a good hiding next season and is sent off packing very quickly.)  Okay she's a woman and we all know how a lot of us hate the female characters (most of them at least) but she wasn't necessary.  It's like an injustice Dean gets Mom, Sam gets some lead.  Come on the writers must've learned their lesson with Bela! These sorts of characters don't work and shouldn't last long at all.  Toni (Elizabeth Blackmore) seemed as cliched as they come, yes she has a kid, mom has a secret, in her time off/spare time whatever she works for or is a part of the Men Of Letters.  Don't get me wrong, nothing against women, but she seems so arrogant and uppity.  Delphine Seydoux (Weronika Rosati) in the submarine ep The Vessel was also part of the Men of Letters and I'd rather see someone like her, or even her than another bureaucratic stuck up Brit!  UGH!

Instead of their lives being in peril, the tables were tuned, it was Dean who was going to explode and Sam was going to be left alone again, that wasn't new.  Yet it turns out Sam is the one in mortal peril (once more.)  But Dean didn't call him or anything to tell him he was safe and all's well with the world and with him.  Yet Sam, dutiful Sam, selfless Sam, Sam who sprang everyone into action one last time, has yet another mishap befall him, or so it seems.  Sometimes I just wish we can now end this never-ending angel arc and go back to how it used to be.  Just the two brothers on the road, no mention of other hunters, no turmoil in heaven and all the rest of it.

The Chuck/Amara story was doomed from the start since it didn't really have anywhere to go, either one gets killed, or the other or both, so where would that leave the world.  Probably where it was when Chuck did a runner and let his creation fend for themselves, his big word "freewill" shouldn't have emulated and applied to him.  He should've been there, especially to ensure there was no war in heaven, what sort of an example did that set.  Sure the angels were not meant to be subjected to their own freewill.  I mean look at Lucifer and what happened to him with his exercise of free will; he was cast out from heaven.  Instead Chuck says the earth will have Sam and Dean as it always did, so God does another runner.

Let's go back to basics for season 12, like I've said already and stop pandering to the whims of fans. Sorry if you don't want to hear that, everyone has their own ideas and stories of where they'd like to see the show go, or what should be included, characters, plots etc; but writers of a show are there to do exactly that, to write and to create their own vision of where they want the stores to go.  It was like that at the beginning, now let's get back to that! It is after all, "saving people, hunting things, the family business!"  Let's make it so!

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The Musketeers 3.3 "Brothers In Arms" Review

                                               
The Musketeers are ordered by Louis (Ryan Gage) to bring his brother, Gaston, Duke of Orleans (Andre Flynn) to the court but on the way, he pretends to fall off his horse and they take him into an inn to recover.  Here an incident ensues between the soldiers and Gaston, as he shoots some of them and has his money stolen, at least he insist it's his money.  Louis wants the men brought to justice and the thief caught, but apparently no one admits to being the thief and if the soldiers, former soldiers who fought for France are brought in and attacked as they don't surrender, there'll be more uprising as Treville (Hugo Speer) warns Louis.  They fought for him but aren't paid in kind by him, as they're left to fend for themselves.

Gaston strikes up a friendship of sorts with Feron (Rupert Everett) and tells him what was stolen wasn't money, but important documents, letters between Gaston and other men plotting the downfall of Louis.  If he found out then he'd hang him for sure.  Feron getting Grimaud (Matthew McNulty) to retrieve the documents, which could work to their advantage as they'd have the men in their pockets with leverage to use against them.  The documents were stolen by Josephine (Lisa McGrillis) the wife of the inn keeper, Christophe (Richard Dormer) and as the Musketeers return, she leaves a note on their horse telling them she'll give up after the funeral.

At the funeral, Feron sends the Red Guards to arrest the men and bring them in, but the Musketeers are there.  As Christophe finds it difficult to speak, Aramis (Santiago Cabrera) takes over the eulogy for the men and Georges Marcheaux (Matt Stokoe) tries to fire on the men, shooting one of them for treason.  He's called off by Treville, his minister and again he tries to reason with Louis; that soldiers all over France will raise up and this will only lead to more death.  Christophe is adamant and refuses to give up, as he takes Porthos (Howard Charles) and Treville hostage as he tries to talk to the men, setting up a siege situation.  Athos (Tom Burke) has no choice but to set up the cadets in defence and Christophe wants his demands met by Louis, give up Gaston, or at least they try to get him to publicly apologize or he'll kill them.  This giving Feron the chance to plot again with Grimaud, if they can ensure the Musketeers fail.  Athos thinks he can break them out and he tells Porthos of  a battle they went through, giving him a clue what to do.

Aramis asks D'Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino) about the battle and he tells them when they were under siege by the Spanish, they got in through tunnels under the building.  Which they manage to do, but are caught again.  This time the Red Guards arrive and they all have to fight together against them, again it seems hopeless and Josephine finally gives D'Artagnan the documents she stole, saying she's to blame for all of this.  D'Artagnan thinks this will bring down Gaston once and for all.  Constance (Tamla Kari) arrives with reinforcements and so does Sylvie (Thalissa Teixeira) impressing Athos once more.

Louis sends Gaston to the Bastille for the documents and Feron signs his warrant.  Even though he doesn't get a hold of the letters he still thinks he can get Gaston on side against Louis.  Constance confides in Anne (Alexandra Dowling) that she doesn't want children cos she doesn't know if she can bring them up without D'Artagnan, she doesn't want to be a widow or raise orphans.  "It's one thing to be a Musketeer's wife.  I don't think I'm brave enough to be a Musketeer's widow." Anne is lonely and she knows that Georges is spying on her.

The banter between Georges and Constance is funny cos it seems they always end up meeting each other, ever since she humiliated him and his men in when she took their clothes from the bathhouse and made them run naked through the town.
Georges: "You are interfering with the king's orders."
Constance: "A coward hides behind his orders.  A man steps out in front of them, you're not a man are you."  Which was kind of a silly line if you think about it, considering Athos is giving orders all the time, just as he did when Aramis told him not to order him and he had to walk out, as did Porthos. Later on in the next episode and Athos saying that Aramis is his penance and Porthos agreeing with him.

The Musketeers 3.2 "The Hunger" Review

                                           
Feron (Rupert Everett) plots against Louis (Ryan Gage) once again, this time by stealing the grain and attempting to sell it back to Louis for an extortionate price, again getting Griamud (Matthew McNulty) to help him.  Feron puts the blame on the refugees of the war, taking shelter in Paris.  As one of their own, Leon (Duran Fulton Brown) is part of the conspiracy.  The refugees are arrested as the Red Guard opens fire on them, including D'Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino).  Treville (Hugo Speer) tells Constance (Tamla Kari) that he will be released, but the others will be hanged, as he tries to get justice for them.  Magistrate Bellavoix (Crispin Letts) says Feron doesn't have evidence that the prisoners stole the grain, having Grimaud use the traitor Leon to plant the empty grain sacks in the refugee's wagon. He's tortured as Georges Marcheaux (Matt Stokoe) pretends to interrogate and Hubert (Francis Magee) tells D'Artagnan they will break him easily.

As the others search the refugee's camp for the grain, Athos (Tom Burke) finds a leaflet dropped by Sylvie (Thalissa Teixeira) which highlights her sedition and treason.  She attempts to shoot Athos, but he tells her at that close range, the bullet will go clean through him, as she gives him her gun. Obviously she didn't burn the documents as she was told to do, she didn't even hide them properly.  D'Artagnan comforts Hubert and we later find out he's Sylvie's father and he wrote those leaflets, but he dies in prison.
Athos: "Who taught you how to handle that?"
Sylvie: "I taught myself."
Athos: "Then you are not a bad student, merely a poor tutor."  Clearly he's smitten by her already and who can blame Athos, it's been a long time since he's laid eyes on a woman!  Even if this one will lead him to be conflicted and their relationship too, conflicted in the sense of he's a Musketeer and she's a potential rebel and traitor.

Once again Feron pleads for the execution of the prisoners and again Treville says he doesn't have any evidence.  The Magistrate tells him to get evidence as all men, ministers, or the poor will be treated equally under the law.  Athos finds the grain sacks in the wagon with Sylvie and also they find the murdered woman  and again are attacked by the guards.  Feron once more doesn't get the evidence he was so certain would be found and again thinks something will turn up.  Aramis (Santiago Cabrera) and Porthos (Howard Charles) find a man selling grain in the market and bearing the king's mark on the sacks.  He says he bought it from another man and this leads them to the stables.  Nortier (Andy Linden) tells them he doesn't have any wagons to hire and Porthos notices limestone dust on the wagon, as well as the Andalusian horse tied up.  Porthos has a hunch which he follows.  Aramis telling the others he has a good hunch.

Porthos finds the grain and he brings it back, thus foiling Feron's plans again and not being able to profit from it.  More dark conversation between Grimaud and Feron as he remarks on maintaining control at all times.  Grimaud thinks suffering is the better option than to lose his judgement.  Also saying how he grew up following the troops "across every stinking battlefield there was, fighting for scraps just to survive."  Think he's got a monopoly on the use of "cess-pit" as he repeats it again in 3.4 The Queen's Diamonds; saying he "sees no God in this cess-pit of an earth."  I somehow don't think Grimaud is much of an adversary for the Musketeers, though he keeps getting away with murder and everything else and all his plotting, he's no match for them.  He's more a pot luck kind of a mercenary since none of his plans seem to work out, which says more about him and who he is, than about being clever or getting by in this "cess-pit of an earth."

Longmire 4.9 "Shotgun" Review

                                                  
In the aftermath of Tyler's (Nick E Tarabay) shooting, Vic (Katee Sackhoff) and Walt (Robert Taylor) take him to hospital but he's in no condition to answer who shot him.  Everyone disperses and Laila (Alicia Urizar) vanishes too.  Henry (Lou Diamond Phillips) takes the gun and Gab (Julia Jones) as they flee the scene too.  As Tyler's operated on we get to see the contrast between him and Henry, as Henry has to pull the slug out himself, whereas a rapist and general all round bad guy has a doctor operate on him in the hospital.  Gab's unable to help Henry with the bullet so he does it himself in agony, I was about to say Henry caught with his pants down, ha!  Sorry.

Next day Walt gets everyone to work leads, Eamon (Josh Cooke) recalls the faces of the men at the Rez party and will track them down before he forgets, as does Vic with the women there.  They talk with Archer (Lew temple) who has nothing to say and leaves after adding that Trot (Aaron McPherson)  punched him cos Eamon locked him up in the same cell, well they really only have one cell.  Walt says they must call Mathias (Zahn McClarnon) and apologize cos they were on the Rez and didn't inform him.  Henry takes Gab to hide her and tells her she can't go back, guess it would've been easier if she had gone back, but where's the story in that.  Cady (Cassidy Freeman) passes Henry and Gab on the road as she's looking for a road for an appointment with a client and tells Henry she can help Gab pro bono if she needs help.  Henry making himself look obvious and suspicious in front of Cady again, after also having to dump his truck.   He also gets to dig himself in deeper as he takes Gab to a Crow medicine woman (Tantoo Cardinal) who's on a Rez which abhors the Cheyenne, but he doesn't see he has any choice.

Linda's (Stefany Mathias) gone missing as has Sam Poteet (Hank Cheyne) as Zachary (Barry Sloane) can't find him at the casino.  He thinks he's being paranoid when a car follows him and he stops to confront the driver, who backs away.  At the hospital, Vic spots Walt with doc Donna Sue (Ally Walker) and she's there with a patient who attempted suicide.  She cancels their date and he's glad she did it first cos he can't make it either.   Later she tells him the patient was suffering from transference, when the patient has feelings for the doctor and she asks if he's had any suspects do that, Walt replying, "I hope so."  Well he must've had some suspects he fancied then ha!  He also brings her a book, John Donne, on the second visit cos he figures she'll be there a long time and she says she read it in college, so he decides to take it back, but she holds onto it cos it's hers now.

They return to the campfire and find a trail of blood, again not good for Henry as Mathias will get it tested and Henry's in the system, or was it Walt getting it tested.  Anyway the slug ricocheted off the rock and hit him.  Ferg (Adam Bartley) says he can follow the trail and they also find the bullet that was used to shoot Tyler, from a snake slayer.  Mathias says it would've been helpful if he'd called him and he needs to release Trot cos Walker's (Callum Keith Rennie) been complaining and he was arrested on the Rez, Walt has no jurisdiction, as we know.  Walt shouts to Ferg to release Trot and then re-arrests him again cos he's in Absaroka county now.  Which won't last long.  They think perhaps the oil company's behind the shooting of Tyler too, but Walt thinks it's personal cos of the gun used.

They can't find Sam but he turns up at Linda's and says he was picking up his sister from a bar.  She has a gun, the same snake slayer that Gab used, which makes her a suspect.  Should've got another gun!  Sam has a bandage on his arm and Ferg confirms it was from Linda's bite and not a gunshot wound. Also Gab gets a car from Mandy (Tamara Duarte) threatening that if she doesn't give it to her she'll tell them there were three attackers involved.  They drive to the medicine woman's place and Henry's called by Walt who asks if he's seen Gab.  He replies he saw her yesterday and he also tells him about Tyler being shot but he doesn't know who did it.  He later asks Cady about Henry and she said she saw Gab but she doesn't know where she was headed, she was just on the Rez, as Cady gets her suspicions about Henry now too again, cos she thinks he's lied to her twice now, maybe.  Henry tosses the gun over the bridge and wouldn't it have bee better if Henry hadn't said anything about Gab knowing Cady's seen him with her and that sooner or later Walt would ask Cady, or they'd talk about it.

Vic gets hurt when she chases after Laila after locating her and she tells them she saw a man dressed in black, it was Hector and he wore a red ribbon round his neck.  Mathias tells Walt about the new Hector and the note he found calling for the execution of the two rapists.  Vic is picked up by Eamon at the hospital and she takes him back to Cady's place where she can't keep her hands off him. Clearly she's trying to move on from Walt in some possible way, though not sure that's possible, who could move on from him!  Tyler dies and Walker says he's not doing anything to help find who did this. Zachary sees a reflection from the hotel window and finds Monte (Stephen Louis Grush) inside.  He calls Zachary a psychopath and he's got photos of the entire sheriff's staff and him.  He takes some of them and then punches Monte threatening him if he doesn't stop it.  Monte takes a photo of his bloody nose.

Henry reaches the medicine woman's place and Gab thinks cos she kicked a rock from the medicine wheel she's been having bad luck ever since.  Henry tells her she's not to blame for what happened, as he's knocked out by the medicine woman.  Poor Henry he goes from one problem to the next and it's like he's the one having all the bad luck ever since he picked up Hector's mantle.  Somehow I don't think he'd have it any other way.  So as we head into the season 4 finale, it's a case of will Walt find Henry and Gab and figure out he's Hector and his part in the shooting.  Will Walt and the doc get together, which doesn't look like it with their schedules.  What's Cady going to do as she doesn't want to get Henry into trouble and she doesn't really know what's going on.  At least the show keeps us coming back from more instead of being stagnant and stuck in the moment or drawing out storylines far longer than they need to be.