Monday, November 18, 2013

Beauty and the Beast 2.06: "Father Knows Best" Review!


After seeing Cat (Kristin Kreuk) discover who her birth father is at the end of last week’s episode of Beauty and the Beast 2.05 "Reunion", I think a bunch of us beasties were hoping for some kind of showdown, or at least a few more details about Agent Reynolds (Ted Whittall) and his history with Vanessa. We were also left wondering about his motives and his plans for Vincent (Jay Ryan). 

From the start, this episode had the clock is ticking for Vincent to find another beast of the week,. especially I If Gabe's (Sendhil Ramamurthy) assumption that Vincent himself is the last beast on Reynolds' list of beasts to kill is correct, Vincent now only has two missions left and with one of them possibly ending in his own death.

Agent Reynolds informs Vincent that the next beast he's after goes by the name Kurt Windsor (Paul Johansson). Reynolds also informs Vincent that Windsor is powerful in the City, requiring a clean kill with no mistakes. Vincent still doesn't know who exactly he's working for, but realizes he must complete these last two missions in order to be with Cat in peace. Just as Reynolds is about to hang up with Vincent, Cat shows up looking for him. He tries to play it cool as if nothing is wrong but Cat comes right out with the "I know you're my dad" card. She invites him to have a cup of coffee with her sometime. Reynolds is left stunned and speechless as Cat heads out the door.

Vincent still needs to deal with the beast of the week. He knows the beast he's after is powerful, and rich. Windsor was also experimented on at approximately the same time as Gabe. So that means Windsor is a first generation beast created from the same strain as Gabe. Even though flat-lining didn't work on the last beast, Gabe suggested they try it on Windsor because they are both from the same strain and it worked on him.

As Vincent waits for instructions from Agent Reynolds to slip into the Windsor residence we see a red haired woman step out on the balcony. The woman is Kurt's daughter, Tori (guest star, Amber Skye Noyes). Before Vincent can make a sneak attack, Kurt senses him and comes rushing through the doors at him. Tori hurries inside and witnesses everything. Kurt then tries to choke Tori to death, thinking she let Vincent in the building. When Vincent witnesses Kurt attacking his own daughter, he grabs Tori and they rush out of the apartment building.

The next day, Cat meets Agent Reynolds for that cup of coffee and a chat. He gives Cat some of information that she wants but not all the answers she was looking for. He tries to pry more information about Vincent out of Cat, without looking like he knows about her and Vincent being together; but acting more as a concerned father. Cat is reluctant to confide in him and knows how to hold her own counsel. A news story comes on that interrupts their bonding time. The newscast details the high profile kidnapping of Tori Windsor and a five million dollar reward! But before they leave to investigate, Reynolds is successful in casting some doubts about Vincent in Cat's head.

Cat, meets up with Tess (Nina Lisandrello) and Gabe and they all try and to connect the dots between Vincent's mission and the Tori's kidnapping. Cat heads off to Vincent's houseboat to find him, but she only finds an earring that she says to herself better be Tori's. She doesn't get much time to look around because Kurt and his bodyguards show up looking for Tori. Cat manages to escape the houseboat unseen by hiding out of sight in the water.

Vincent takes Tori to the woods and ties her up. He tries to calm her down by explaining he didn't kidnap her, he actually saved her from her father who was in a beast rage trying to kill her. Vincent tells her that he never wanted to be a beast, but her father wants to be one because it gives him power and control. To prove his point, Vincent removes the tracking device on her arm; a device she knew nothing about.

Cat eventually finds Vincent in the woods with Tori. The three of them meet up with Gabe and she explains to them that rather than killing Kurt, flat-lining him might work. Cat visits Kurt, telling him the only way he can ever see his daughter again is if he allows them to kill him and then bring him back to life, which will destroy the beast within him. Cat's explanation convinces Kurt to agree.

They meet with Gabe and he explains to Kurt what has to be done. Kurt tells Cat if he's going to die, he wants to speak to Tori one last time. Cat arranges for Vincent to bring Tori to Kurt. They have a heart-to-heart talk just as he about to receive the injection that will kill him. But the beast within him has some kind of reaction and comes out.

Kurt knocks out Cat and Gabe with one blow, and a beast battle ensues between him and Vincent. Kurt is extremely powerful for a first generation beast and he nearly kills Kurt. But Kurt's animal nature takes over and he rips Kurt's heart from his body. Tori looks horrified by what Vincent has done, and Cat and Gabe are both shocked. Later, Gabe tells Tess everything that happened. She reacts by stating, "It seems like Vincent has taken a step backwards." She wonders how Cat is handing it and wonders just what will happen.

Toward the end of the episode, Reynolds catches up with Cat and orders her a coffee. He tells her that he took a chance hoping to find her and was pleased to see her there. Reynolds manages to get into Cat's psyche by asking her questions that would lead her to think Vincent is a lost cause and isn't getting better after all. With all her own thoughts circling in her head and now Reynolds' ideas as well, she decides to head over to talk to Vincent. She tries to show him she isn't afraid of him, but she tells him she is afraid of his humanity being lost forever because he ripped out Wagner's heart in front of her. She then tells him she hopes that it is only a case of two steps forward and one step back and getting his memories of them as a couple back is a good sign.

The last scene in this episode wasn't a VinCat one but one of Tori. She is seen arriving home to the now empty apartment she shared with her father. She is, of course, still shaken by her father's gruesome death. As she glances in the mirror, she notices her eyes shift and start to glow -- looks like we finally have our she-beast on the show. At first I wondered how it could be possible if she was never experimented on by Muirfield. Then I realized that her father was experimented on over 20 years ago before Tori was conceived and Tori was therefore a genetically created beast.

Overall, I loved this episode of Beauty and the Beast and thought it was well written and directed. I think the show is really starting to develop its own style and I just hope we have a strong enough beastie following to keep it going for at least a third season. The creators, cast and crew are simply great and it shows every week with each new episode.

Beauty and the Beast season 2 airs Monday nights at 9/8c on The CW.


"Father Knows Beast" was written by Brad Kern & Roger Grant and directed by Paul Kaufman

Photo Credit: The CW






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