DECEPTION: NOTHING’S FREE, LITTLE GIRL (S1:E2 REVIEW)

Breakfast table, and we hear the Bowers family squabble with each other. Julian and Joanna are not present. Mia is still upset from Vivian’s death, but meanwhile Robert wants to continue the rollout of the new drug. Edward and Sophia don’t like Joanna and they advise against Robert working with her.

Joanna’s hoopty won’t start, and a neighbor named Rayburn comes to help. Apparently he knew her when she was younger and living with the Bowers. Julian offers her a ride.

Will and his co-workers are discussing Remy’s death. One of Will’s coworkers is convinced that Edward killed Remy. Apparently 16 years ago Edward was suspected of raping, drugging, and choking a woman named Kimberly Yeager. Will’s boss gives him and Joanna three days to come up with something regarding the whistleblower at Bowers Pharmaceutical.

Will tells Joanna to get closer to Edward. He tells her to get the names of the people on the Bowers research and development team. Apparently her mother found her messing around with Julian and that began the separation between her and the Bowers.

Robert’s been messing around with his secretary, but now he’s having her shipped to Chicago. She’s upset and threatens to tell the police that she knows Robert was out late on the night that Vivian died, and one of his sons kept calling the office looking for him.

Julian meets up with a fling named Cassie at a pool party.

Joanna sneaks into Robert’s office with the intention of looking at his computer files. Edward sees her and asks why she’s in the office. Robert comes around the corner and doesn’t seem concerned.

The Bowers family goes to see Edward’s daughter play at her sports game. Some smart ass sitting in front of Edward keeps making remarks about Edward’s possible connection to Kimberly Yeager. Edward fights the man.

Will’s coworker, Gabe, had guys follow Edward, and they arrest him at the game. Will reveals that he knows Edward said he was home all night when Vivian was killed, but he was actually stopped at a traffic light at one point that night.

Edward comes clean and says he went to spy on his kids and get something to eat. Then he demands to see his lawyer, and Will stops the interrogation.

Sophia is moving Vivian’s clothes and items out of the house, and Mia gets upset.

Flashback: Sophia and Vivian are argue about telling Mia the truth about who her mother is.

Robert’s secretary Hannah tells Sophia that she’s been having an affair with Robert. Sophia doesn’t give a single damn.

Will and his boss are sitting in the dark. The boss demands results in the investigation.

Medical examiner decides to rule Vivian’s death as an accidental overdose. Will asks the ME to wait until the blood results come in.

Joanna talks to Mia and finds out Vivian’s baby’s father is named Ben. Mia also reveals that someone was probably following Vivian.

Julian has moved the pool party to the Bowers place.

Another Bowers breakfast. Robert wants the family to hangout. Mia comes to breakfast with a ‘Who Killed Vivian Bowers’ tee shirt.

Will goes to Hannah’s apartment looking for her. Her brother says she’s not there but he lied. She decides to meet with Will soon, though.

Joanna and Edward talk but she doesn’t get any information. Edward tells her that he wanted to run for office, but after he was suspected of Yeager’s death he had no choice but to work for the family business.

A masked man follows Hannah’s brother to his car, and the man beats the brother with what appears to be a hammer.

Hannah cancels her meeting with Will.

Robert has a stiff drink at the office. He tells Joanna that he feels like he’s losing his family one by one. He shares a story about calling Edward ‘Eddie Spaghetti’ when he was four. Then he leaves and Joanna unlocks the password on his computer screen. Password: spaghetti4

Joanna finds out Ben Preswick is the whistleblower AND Vivian’s baby daddy.

Julian buys Joanna a new Mercedes-Benz convertible. She gets upset for a few minutes and then gets over it.

Turns out that hammer belongs to the neighbor, Rayburn. He used it to attack Hannah’s brother by breaking both of his knees. He tells Robert that he thinks that will keep Hannah quiet.

Ending scene: Edward goes to Ben’s apartment and they have a staring match.

SCANDAL: ONE FOR THE DOG (SEASON 2, EPISODE 10)

We’re back!

This show opens with Langston and her kiss-ass Hollis. He suggest the torture techniques should be intensified since Huck hasn’t confessed or revealed any information.

Then we cut to Huck being tortured and waterboarded. He has bruises on his face and body so he’s already taken several beatings. U.S. District Attorney David Rosen is disgusted, and he reminds the men-in-charge that he represents America and he doesn’t think Huck can take much more.

Verna, Mellie, Olivia, and Cyrus all get together and Verna confesses to ratting out Huck. Verna says Hollis keeps a second phone. She saw it one day and Hollis quickly tried to hide it. At first Olivia and Cyrus dismiss it, until Verna reveals that he spoke to a woman named Becky about a hotel- turns out it was the hotel where the deadly shots came from. Verna suspects Hollis is responsible for the shooting.

Abby breaks into Hollis’ office and finds the secret phone. She writes down a phone number that appears multiple times in the phone. Olivia tells Harrison to hold onto the number, and don’t call it.

Olivia is at home and Edison comes over. She asks him if he found out where the suspect (Huck) is but he wasn’t able to find out. They start kissing until an official government letter is strangely delivered to Edison at Olivia’s home. Edison takes the letter and then starts whining about their stalled sex life. He reveals the letter is from President Fitz to reinstate his presidential powers. Olivia runs to the hospital, thinking he’s awake.

She arrives at his hospital room and finds he is still in a coma, and Mellie forged the document in an effort to start driving Langston (and mostly Hollis) out of office. Langston learns about the letter and calls Mellie. She asks to speak to Fitz, but Mellie says he’s asleep and quickly hangs up.

Back at the office Abby and Quinn are thinking about calling the phone number or contacting the authorities. Harrison tells them that there’s a whole different layer to the Fitz situation and it’s best to let Olivia handle it.

Hollis and Langston are talking, AGAIN. They leak the forged letter. As a response, Olivia, her team, and Cyrus start enlisting people to leak information to the press about Fitz’ ‘miraculous’ recovery. They make it seem like he’s up and moving and on his way back to the office.

Cyrus and James are still having problems because the baby hasn’t arrived, and James is doing online research regarding brain injuries and he doesn’t seem to believe Cyrus’ claims that Fitz is recovering rapidly.

Huck’s beatings have resumed, and his face is completely bloodied and misshaped. He says he’ll talk if David Rosen is in the room. He warns that Fitz is still in danger if he is alive. He gets beat again.

Edison keeps calling Olivia but she doesn’t respond. She does respond when David comes to her office and reveals where Huck is located. With this new information she scores a meeting with Langston, where she successfully asks to have Huck released. David picks up Huck and has him dropped off to Olivia.

Olivia and Cyrus have Mellie sign a form to have Fitz moved to Camp David.

Edison is trying to waltz into Fitz’s hospital room but he’s stopped by Harrison. Olivia walks up and Edison confronts her. He says he refuses to leave until he sees Fitz and she tells him that will never happen. Edison gets to the point: he will prosecute Olivia if it’s determined that Fitz is still unconscious and the letter was forged. Olivia looks at him and says ‘Goodbye Edison.”

Hollis and Langston meet up yet again, and he does not like the Camp David move. Hollis says he’ll take care of it aka he’s going to call Becky and have her shoot the president again, and hopefully kill him.

Becky hides on a rooftop and gets her gun out. Huck sneaks up behind her and holds a gun on her. They exchange a few words and then the feds surround them and takes Huck and Becky into custody.

Langston delivers a speech to the nation, and says Fitz’ alleged shooter is in custody. After her speech she meets with Mellie, and demands that Mellie withdraw the letter. Otherwise Langston will take her down.

Cyrus confesses that Fitz’s recovery story was a fake. James reveals that he has quit his job. They agree to pick up their baby, but on the way out they are interrupted by a phone call. In turn, Cyrus calls Olivia and tells her someone wants to speak with her.

It’s Fitz! He’s awake, and he says ‘hello’ to Olivia.

THE END

DECEPTION: PILOT (SEASON 1, EPISODE 1 RECAP)

Deception stars Meagan Good as Detective Joanna Lacosto, a cop who goes undercover to learn more about the death of her best friend, socialite Vivian Bowers. Laz Alonso stars as FBI agent Will Moreno, who is helping Joanna crack the case.

Here are my initial thoughts: the pilot episode is okay. Good and Alonso have zero chemistry so it’s hard to take their budding relationship seriously. There’s also a ton of stereotypes within the Bowers family and it also has a campy feel to it: the boozy, youth obsessed mother, Sophia; the hard working, shady father Robert; the sassy, defiant teenager Mia; snobby, intimidating brother Edward; and the handsome playboy Julian. I felt like I was watching a cheesy soap opera at times.

I really wanted to like this episode, and it definitely has some good points, like the scenes between Julian and Joanna, and Edward seems like he has a big ass closet of secrets that he’s hiding. However, I was a little disappointed with the overacting from all of the characters (except Joanna) and I’m also hoping the show will stop rushing through certain plotlines. It’s not enough for a character to say ‘Hey this is important.’ The audience needs to feel that it’s important.

Ready for the review? Here we go!

A young blond woman is walking alone, at night, down a dark alley towards her car. She notices someone is quickly approaching her from behind, and he/she is wearing a dark hoodie. She jumps into her car and the person comes up to her window. She recognizes him/her and says “Get in, where are we going?” The next morning she is found dead in a hotel room. Her rich family members are contacted, and told she died from an overdose.

Insert Detective Joanna Locasto. FBI Agent Will Moreno tells her about Vivian’s death and how he believes it’s a homicide. Since Joanna and Vivian were best friends, Will convinces Joanna to infiltrate the family and find the truth about the death. He also suggests that she wear a wire at the funeral. He mentions the FBI has been investigating the Bowers family for stock manipulation and also Edward Bowers specifically for the death(?) of a young woman.

Joanna attends Vivian’s funeral and embraces Julian. Apparently these two had a sexual relationship in their younger years. After the services she meets with Vivian’s father, Robert. They reminisce together and she’s invited to dinner. During dinner she says she’s planning to move to New York and find a place to stay. Robert invites her to stay in the Bowers’ home, and she gets the stink eye from Edward and Mia.

Joanna overhears a late night argument between Edward and his estranged wife Samantha. She wants a divorce and custody of the kids.

Joanna starts digging through the home and appears to find a usb drive. She also speaks to Mia and learns Vivian was going to AA meetings and trying to get clean.

Joanna meets with Will. She remembers a time when Vivian was attempting to drive away from the Bowers home while drunk, and Vivian kept screaming that she needed to get out of there. It’s also revealed that Joanna and Will were partners for four years and decided to date, but shortly after Will left for the FBI.

Sophia, the drunken cold-hearted bitch of a mother, tells Joanna that since Vivian’s death everyone is pretending she’s a saint.

Joanna finds Vivian’s personal videos on the usb drive, and one of the videos show Vivian talking about her pregnancy. It seems to be a very recent video.

Joanna walks outside of the home and finds someone in the trees taking photographs. She believes that he’s a paparazzo and chases after him when he runs. They tumble to the ground and her shirt is ripped, and he sees that she’s wearing a wire.

The guy’s name is Remy, and he was contacted by Vivian shortly before her death. She knew that the family business, Bowers Pharmaceuticals, was about to release a drug that killed 27 people in Thailand. Julian created the drug and allegedly the family got rid of her once they realized she was about to blow the whistle on the new drug.

Joanna tries to go back into the house but she’s stopped by Julian, who asks her to share a bottle of wine with him on the dock. Julian flirts with her and she plays along a little bit. She leaves to go to bed. On her way to her bedroom she is stopped by Edward, and he tells her he doesn’t trust her, and he doesn’t know why she is now coming back to the Bowers after being away for 17 years. How old is Joanna??

The next day she’s stopped by Robert who asks her if she would like to be his assistant at work. Turns out Julian came up with the idea to help her get settled in New York.

Remy calls Joanna and tells her that he has something to share with her. He tells her to meet him. Before Joanna arrives, a car with a mysterious driver appears behind Remy’s parked car and rams into his car until it flies into a nearby body of water.

Will decides to pull Joanna off the case. She goes back to his place and he cooks dinner for her, and then they make out.

Joanna finds out the next day that Vivian had her child in 1997, and matches the birth date to Mia’s birthday.

Julian is alone at a lake, and he’s crying. He pulls out a men’s ring that has three diamonds on it, and the shape of the diamonds match the shape of a bruise that was found on Vivian’s cheek. He drops the ring into the water.

At work Will still recommends pulling Joanna from the case, but her boss (?) says she needs to stay since Julian likes her. She tells Will that she will take the job as Robert’s assistant.

Then the episode ends.

TV REVIEW: SEASON 2 EPISODE 10 OF AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM

The Jan. 2, 2013 episode of AHS: Asylum is titled “The Name Game.”

Monsignor Timothy confronts the devil, Jude experiences the same inhumane treatment that she used to put the patients through, Dr. Arden makes some tough decisions regarding his future at Briarcliff, and Kit finds himself in the middle of Lana’s and Dr. Thredson’s attempts to out smart each other.

Here we go!

Dr. Arden beats on Kit’s chest and revives him. Dr. Arden didn’t tell Kit that the aliens returned and that Grace is alive and pregnant.

Pepper is very articulate and taunts Dr. Arden when he demands to know what Grace is carrying. He threatens to perform a C-section but Pepper tells him to back off or the aliens will come for him.

Monsignor is recovering from his wounds. Sister Mary Eunice gently puts him into a bed but he seems to be very disturbed by her presence.

Now that Sister Jude is a patient, she is being mocked by Sister Mary, who buys a juke box and places it in the common area. She dedicates a song to Sister Jude, who later gets up and walks out.

Kit joins Lana in the common area. She tells him that Dr. Thredson is missing, and surprise! Dr. Thredson walks into the common area wearing his glasses and fancy dark suit. He tells Lana that he’ll keep her alive long enough to give birth to the baby and breastfeed it. He also reveals that Sister Mary Eunice untied him and gave him a full time position at Briarcliff.

Sister Jude talks back to Sister Mary Eunice, and she is punished with electro shock therapy.

Sister Mary Eunice goes to check on the Monsignor, and he tries to release the devil from her. She flings him onto his bed, holds him down and makes a man out of him aka takes his virginity aka rape! Afterwards Dr. Arden is standing at the door. I’m not sure if he knew what happened or if he assumed that the Monsignor is a horny beast.

Jude is whacked out of her mind. She wanders into the common area and looks at the jukebox. Then a fun song/dance sequence starts with Jude dressed up in a pretty blue dress and styled wig as she goes around the room and sings ‘The Name Game’.

Dr. Arden goes into the woods to feed the creatures and he’s followed by Sister Mary Eunice. He tells her the experiment is over and he kills the creatures. Then he starts crying and says ‘It’s all a farce.’ Sister Mary Eunice walks off.

Mosignor Timothy meets privately with Jude, and she’s still loopy. He apologizes for not believing her when she said Sister Mary Eunice is possessed. He asks what he should do, and Jude replies “You kill her.”

Dr. Thredson is walking around Briarcliff like he owns the place. He meets with a worker named Carl, and tells Carl to have Kit brought by his office in a straitjacket.

Thredson goes to Dr. Arden’s office but can’t find him. He hears a scream coming from Arden’s surgical room. Thredson walks in and sees Grace giving birth.

Sister Mary Eunice walks into Timothy’s room to find him fervently praying. He starts backing out of the room and towards the staircase. He tells the devil that he knows Mary’s innocent soul is still present. Then Sister Mary tells him that she is tired of fighting the devil for her body. Timothy tells her to let him go, and he pushes her over the stair rails.

Sister Mary hits the ground and the Angel of Death appears. The Angel takes both the devil and Sister Mary.

Dr. Arden and Timothy have a discussion about Sister Mary’s body. Timothy wants to bury her, but Dr. Arden suggests cremation since her body was used by the devil.

Dr. Thredson and Kit meet as planned- Kit refuses to reveal the location of the tapes. Thredson shows Kit that Grace is alive and she has a child. Apparently Kit was so overwhelmed that he decided to tell Thredson where the tapes are.

So Thredson goes to the hiding place and finds a book, and not the tapes. Then Lana appears and tells him that she hid them in a new place, and this time she’s the only person who knows where they are. She tells Thredson if he hurts anyone else she’ll release those tapes. “I’m goddamn plucky, remember?’ she says. Yes, Lana, yes!!!

Jude is still loopy. I’m not sure if she’s going to recover from this. She starts rambling to Mother Superior about going to Rome and getting married at the Vatican. Then she tells Mother Superior to free Lana.

Dr. Arden is preparing Sister Mary for her cremation. He starts pushing the body towards the fire, and then he hops on top of Sister Mary and goes into the fire with her. The episode ends with Dr. Arden’s screams.

THE END

My thoughts:

What an emotional episode for Dr. Arden! He was really torn up about Sister Mary’s actions and death. I do wish the aliens would’ve grabbed him and carried him off for ‘experiments’. I think Dr. Arden needed to feel what he put Shelley through.

Speaking of aliens, this storyline continues to get dragged along. And I wonder what Grace really gave birth to, and why? Yes it looks like a healthy baby but I’m skeptical!

I’m rooting for Lana! I’m betting that she has a scheme and she’s hoping Dr. Thredson will fall into the trap that she’s setting up.

What did you think of the episode?