Mystical Magick

No Ordinary Family (s01e02): No Ordinary Marriage
★★★
Jim and Stephanie keep their powers under wraps, but it doesn’t mean their abilities are dormant as Jim hunts for bank robbers and Stephanie goes back on her word about using her super speed.

Life Unexpected (s02ep04): Team Rebounded
★★★
Cate tries to get closer to Kelly. Elsewhere, Tasha informs Lux that she’s back in Portland with a new foster family; and Baze encourages Math to ask out Paige.

Glee (s02ep03): Grilled Cheesus
★★★★
Finn has an existential crisis when he sees the face of Jesus in a grilled-cheese sandwich, or thinks he does. Meanwhile, the glee kids engage in a theological discussion after rallying around Kurt when he faces a crisis of his own.

Stargate Universe (s02e02): Aftermath
★★★
Rush has Destiny stop at a planet that was locked out of the ship’s controls when food and water become scarce.

The Vampire Diaries (s02ep05): Kill or Be Killed
★★★
Mason reveals to Tyler the details of the family curse and informs the sheriff about her town.

Nikita (s01e05): The Guardian
★★★
Percy searches for a fugitive operative whose capture could potentially expose Division’s secrets, but Michael is suspicious of Percy’s motives. Meanwhile, Alex goes into Percy’s office to send a warning to Nikita.

Fringe (s03ep03): The Plateau
★★★
Olivia is plagued by visions; Secretary Bishop unveils his secret plan to Col. Broyles; the Division races against time to halt a series of catastrophic events.

Sean: Why would any innocent person need that many identities? She’s got Leila. Please! Please! I need your help!

This week we learn they’d even kill a policeman to get to Sean. You’d think if they wanted him that bad, then why kidnap his girlfriend and not him from the start? I think there’s also more to Leila and her family than meets the eye.

It also seems that kidnapper Vicki, I fail to remember her real name, has been trained by the government. Could she be our very own La Femme Nikita?

President Martinez: End of discussion. I’m not going to condone the use of torture.

We also meet William, one of the detainees, who is willing to tell President Martinez about everything in exchange for freedom. Only thing is William also wants his girlfriend to be free, too. That’s where things get dicey.

Sophia: I can’t defend this, but I won’t betray my people.

Poor William’s own girlfriend, Clea Duvall in a cameo, stabs him in the stomach after making sure he hasn’t told anyone. The aliens must really be hiding something if they’re willing to kill one of their own in order to hide the truth.

Sophia: I should have dealt with him when I had the chance.
Lee: You protected him, why?
Sophia: That was my responsibility to protect you all.
Lee: And now?
Sophia: And now you will have to deal with him…harshly.

At first I thought Sophia was the good alien, but now I’m starting to wonder. First, she won’t tell President Martinez about anything. Then, she has a secret meeting with Lee and tells him to stop William. What are her motivations?

Sterling: Our responsibility is to protect the American public as a whole.
Martinez: Protect them… from the truth?
Sterling: We don’t have a choice. Not when the truth is that we have been infiltrated by an unknown number of nonhumans, that possess devastating technological power that we have no defense against, and just murdered a plane full of people.

I know some people suspected we hadn’t seen the last of Michael, since he’s played by Scott Patterson, but I really wasn’t expecting all the plane passengers to come back to life at the end. Thomas said they served a purpose, so now I just wonder what was done to them?

What I expected was more of the same family drama, but with a new supernatural twist. I wasn’t disappointed. First and foremost, this show is obviously a family drama with parents, kids, husband/wife dynamic, and outside friends. Berlanti is back, guys.

Stephanie: Close your eyes. Listen to my voice and focus on the one thing that matters most. (thinking) It’s you. You’re the most important thing in the world to me.

Daphne definitely got the short end with reading everyone’s minds. That’s probably the worst power to have in high school. Then again, if she could filter out all the extra noise, it could become pretty useful. Thank goodness she got some help from her mom and is on the way to controlling it.

Daphne: What are you doing? I heard you. You’re like… thinking!

JJ on the other hand has the best power, if he could only use it more subtly. Obviously, if you are suddenly acing tests the teacher is going to notice. I think, the teacher needs to go the way of the coach from last season’s Vampire Diaries.

I also think it’s pretty cool that his powers allow JJ a renewed sense of confidence and to feel smart and useful. It’s just going to take everyone around him some adjusting time.

Jim: You had a car accident, without a car.

I love the sfx from Stephenie’s powers as she speeds down the street. Out of everyone in the family she’s the one most eager to get rid of the powers and wondering where they came from. With good reason seeing as she trips while running and gets pretty injured.

Also, Stephanie and Katie figure out it’s not the glowy water that gave them their powers. So, it begs the question, what did?

George: You got to work on your landings. I can’t be sneaking around, filling in Jim size divets all over the city.

It seems like the guys in the Powell family have it the best with controlling their powers. Jim is still using his to fight crime and also learning the things he can’t do with them. Stopping a moving car seems to be one of those things.

It’s cool to see him excited at using them, but you do have to wonder if Stephanie is right and they need to be careful. And now that the lady at the station knows about his powers…

Stephanie: Say them. Say my three favorite words.
Jim: You were right. Until we understand what’s happening, no more powers.
Stephanie: No more powers. I love you.
Jim: My three favorite words.

…which doesn’t seem to be too big of a deal anymore since she might now be dead. I wasn’t expecting her to die so soon. I am kind of suspicious that maybe she’s still alive.

And seeing Reverend Camden from 7th Heaven as a bad guy? Weird. It’s interesting that even though this show is a family drama, there’s also the scifi part in the balance as well. This could get interesting.

Baze: If you’re not into the guy, you gotta tell him. And very gently, he’s a delicate flower.
Paige: No, i am a Virgo, we are not good at awkward conversations.

Baze played second fiddle this week, which is just as well since he’s always has a lot of screen time. What’s really surprising is seeing Mouth get a storyline, but did it have to be with Paige? Really, what do any of the guys see in her?

We’re talking about the girl who kissed Mouth just to end the date this week. Glad that relationship is over before it really began. And Baze, telling Mouth you’re into her again is not the way to get him to back off, buddy.Sorry.

Ryan: (to Cate) It’s actually very simple. Either you want to have a kid with me or your don’t. And if you don’t I don’t know why we got married in the first place.

Another thing that may be over before it began, Cate’s friendship with new radio host, Kelly. I know she’s meant to be Cate’s foil, but could she be more annoying with promoting her book all the time?

I do sympathize with her revealing to Ryan about Cate not wanting to have anymore kids. I mean there are things you should discuss before marriage, and whether you want kids I think should be one of them. I give it one episode til Ryan discovers she’s still taking her birth control.

Social Worker: She said she thought of you as a daughter.

I feel like Lux is so immature this season. She tricks Cate into agreeing to let Tasha live with them, but doesn’t realize the repercussions of getting Tasha kicked out of her home. I’m glad it all worked out, but I’m still wondering why Tasha gets to do assisted living.

And what’s with Lux and her almost adopted mother? Seems to me Lux resents her for not going through with the adoption process, not that the lady was a horrible mother as she tried to tell Tasha.

But most importantly, this episode felt like the show was going back to it’s roots. Can’t wait to see some more.

Brittany: Is god an evil dwarf?

I actually really didn’t think I’d like this episode after watching the first ten minutes and realizes it had a lot to do with religion. Religion is such a touchy subject that it can go wrong really quickly. This actually ended up being my favorite episode this season so far, and one of my favorite of the show.

Kurt: I don’t believe in God, Dad. But I believe in you, and I believe in us.

I liked that even though Kurt didn’t believe in God, it didn’t stop the rest of the Glee club from praying for his dad and expressing their beliefs. It was a very emotional storyline, and I think I felt a tear.

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us?
Just a stranger on the bus,
trying to make his way home..

I also liked that the episode touched on the idea of whether God really gives us signs or is active in our every day lives. Finn sees Jesus in a grilled cheese and then thinks God helped him win a football game with Artie, touch Rachel’s boobs, and become quarterback on the football team. Too funny.

I also liked the music this week a lot. Rachel’s “Papa Can You Hear Me”. Kurt’s “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”. Finn’s “Losing My Religion”. And the cast’s “One of Us”, which just makes me want to watch Joan of Arcadia again. And I did this week, I missed that show.

Eli: Okay. Destiny just jumped. This is not good.
James: Oh, try not to panic.
Eli: Experience tells me that this is a very good time to panic.

Just as everything can get back to normal aboard Destiny: Rush has found the bridge and is secretly controlling the ship, his dead wife is speaking to him, the crew have a handful of the Lucian Alliance in the brig, and everyone is running out of food. It sucks that there really is no normal for them.

Gloria: Why don’t you just tell the truth? Ask for help.
Rush: No. I can’t.
Gloria: Because Colonel Young can’t be trusted?
Rush: He let the Lucian Alliance take over this ship. The man is mentally unstable and he’s getting worse all the time. He nearly just killed a man.
Gloria: Your negligence caused the shuttle to crash.
Rush: The situation is desperate because of him. He’s not fit to lead this mission.

I find it so frustrating that Rush is willing to put everyone’s lives in danger, just so he can find out more about the Ancients and Destiny. Even worse, he’s willing to let others go down to the planet, but he’s not willing to go himself. Nice.

Before they just had to worry about everything out there, now they have to worry about everyone inside. Can either Rush or Young be trusted to lead? They’re about to come to blows.

Riley: You know… you’d figure being stranded on this ship in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of strangers would be the problem. But that–that isn’t it exactly. It’s not so much being out here as it is not being there. For the birthdays, the weddings, the funerals… simple things like just taking your nephew to school on his first day, or even taking the dog for a walk. You know, just not… not being there.

I found Riley’s death quite by Young quite disturbing. It takes a strong person to be able to do a mercy killing, and I don’t think I could ever do it. I think his eyes open and staring are going to haunt Young and all of us for a while. Rush, I blame all this on you.

Volker: There’s an object out there. It’s just coming into range.
Young: What is it?
Volker: We’re not sure, but we’re about to find out.
Rush: We’re headed straight for it.

My favorite part of the Stargate series is seeing the places they go and things they see. We need to see more of that I think intertwined with the dismal day to day survival. I’m hoping we get more soon.