Mystical Magick

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Pretty Little Liars (s1ep02): The Jenna Thing
★★★

Jenna Cavanaugh comes back to town, and her presence as well as questions about Ali’s death force the girls to deal with the ugly past. Meanwhile, Aria tries to keep her distance from Ezra; and Spencer puts herself in Wren’s orbit.

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The Vampire Diaries (s1ep4): Family Ties
★★★

Stefan escorts Elena to the town’s annual Founder’s Party, where Damon tells her a surprising story about his family’s past. It prompts Elena to ask Stefan questions he refuses to answer and forces him to take action against his brother.

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Scoundrels (s1ep1): And Jill Came Tumbling After
★★

In the series premiere of this comedy-drama about a family of criminals, matriarch Cheryl West (Virginia Madsen) attempts to put her brood on a law-abiding path after her husband (David James Elliott) gets an unexpectedly harsh prison sentence.

I’m kind of impressed with the writers being able to balance the four main characters, and even with dead girl Alison gets character development. The whole dead girl flashbacks reminds me of Lilly Kane on Veronica Mars.

But I still don’t understand why the rest of the girls followed her. All it seems she’s done is screw up their lives and even made Jenna blind by shooting off fireworks.

It must suck to have to avoid Jenna in a small town like theirs. It was nice of Aria to invite her to their table for lunch, but I find Jenna to be really creepy and don’t trust her. And judging by the last scene of the episode, it could even be Jenna sending the texts to all the girls. But I’m thinking not.

Jenna: You can say “blind,” Spencer. It’s okay. It’s not a dirty word.

Another person I don’t really trust is Maya. Even less than Jenna. Again, it may be just the show sets everyone up to be suspicious, but I don’t like how she’s just moved in and already horning in on Emily. It seems forced and rushed. Then again, what do we really know about Emily anyway?

Emily: Maybe I’m not the person everyone thinks I am.
Hanna: Who is?

Maya: I think Brad Pitt and I are missing the same sensitivity chip.

Emily: I kinda sleep in the middle.
Maya: I kinda sleep in the middle, too.

Spencer clearly likes to secretly rebel, and with good reason as she’s under a lot of pressure to succeed. Her room is like a shrine to all her accomplishments. But she’s not the good girl she thinks or pretends to be. And despite what she says, she’s partly responsible for the whole Wren drama.

Spencer: Telling the police now about what happened to Jenna isn’t gonna make Jenna see again. It will just ruin our lives.

Then, there’s Hanna who I think is the most layered of the girls. She has this mom who is not a good role model and more of a friend to her than a mother.

Then, there’s her transformation from insecure and overweight to thin and popular which I find quite interesting. Plus, there’s that creepy cop who’s hanging around her, her mother, and all the girls.

And lastly there’s Aria and Mr. Fitz, who couldn’t be more obvious they’re hiding something, and I can’t decide the whole thing is cute or creepy. Was Mr. Fitz following Aria, or did he just happen upon her outside in the rain?

I like that Aria now sympathizes with her father and understands what it’s like to give into passion and keep a secret. And really, everyone on this show knows what it’s like to keep a secret.

Damon: You really need some human blood. It might even the playing field. Football reference! Too soon?

Damon: I just wanna let you know they caught the culprit. The animal responsible for killing coach Tanner and all those people.
Stefan: What are you talking about?
Damon: It was a mountain lion.. like big one. It attacked a hunter this morning. It’s all over the news: Deadly beast captured. All is well in Mystic Falls.

Damon: “What’s so special about this Bella girl? Edward’s so whipped.”
Caroline: “You gotta read the first book first. It won’t make sense if you don’t.”
Damon: “Huh. I miss Anne Rice. She was so on it.”
Caroline: “How come you don’t sparkle?”
Damon: “Because I live in the real world, where vampires burn in the sun.

Stefan and Damon rivalry was also in prime force, with Damon clearly superior. Love the way the show doesn’t have to tell us everything, but instead show us. Like the whole Founder’s Day document, which is obviously Stefan and Damon of old.

Damon: “I’m not some drunk sorority chick, you can’t roofie me

I wish we could have seen more of Vicki standing up for herself though. For such a independent female, she sure does let the guys in her life boss her around.

Mrs. Lockwood (to Tyler about Vicki): “That’s what you get when you bring the trash into the party.

Despite Vicki there are other strong female characers like Bonnie. I’m going to enjoy watching her come into her own and develop her powers.

Stefan and Elena were in prime cuteness mode in this episode. It was a beautiful shot under the arches. And it was so nice to see Elena standing up for herself as a woman against Stefan.

Elena: Look, you’re the mystery guy and I like that. But with mystery comes secrets.. and this thing with Katherine…
Stefan: You know, let it go. I don’t wanna talk about it.
Elena: Well, then say something about yourself.. anything. Otherwise, I’m left with nothing but what other people tell me.

Stefan: Look, there are things that you don’t know, okay? Things that I want to tell you but I can’t, and I may never be able to.. and I just need you to trust me.
Elena: Trust is earned. I can’t just magically hand it over.

And her standing up to Damon about Caroline. And Stefan besting Damon with smarts instead of strength. And then of course, I love the last sequence:

Stefan: I did what I had to do.. to protect Elena.. to protect everyone. Yes, Damon, the headline reads: “Deadly beast captured. All is well in Mystic Falls.”

Another thing I love is the random appearances of guest stars we love, including Marguerite MacIntyre from KyleXY. And who would have thought the parents in this show versus BtVS are a whole lot smarter? Big reveal.