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Witches of East End: Pilot

"If this were a movie, right now would be the moment where the girl who thought she was ordinary finds out she is actually magic, and the power was within her all along."

If watching TV has taught me anything, it's this: as a parent, whatever you decide to lie to your children about will inevitably define their lives.

In the case of Witches of East End, it's a bit of a non-starter though, since Freya and Ingrid have died and been reborn countless times. Whatever Joanna gets wrong this time can be fixed next time.

The greatest hit of this pilot were the four main characters. Each had their own separate personality and backstory without seeming like outright stereotypes. Ingrid is the straight-laced skeptic. Smart. Cautious. But she isn't boring. She has friends and she flirts with cute men, not that well, but she has a life.

Freya is less fleshed out right out of the gate, but I think it's because most of the focus is put onto her relationship with Dash and dreams about Killian. The free-spirited bartender has been done before, but she isn't a transient with no roots. She has a mother and sister that she loves and a fiancé that she's ready to settle down with, neither of which are stereotypical for a wild child. Both Ingrid and Freya are cursed to die young and be reborn forever, I think. Or is that just part of Joanna's curse? Speaking of Joanna... poor Freya. I can't imagine what it would be like to be told your entire life that the thing you think you know couldn't possibly be true and made to feel crazy for even thinking it and then to turn around and be told you were right. She has every reason to be very, very angry.

All four women have wit, and each one made me laugh, but no one as much as Aunt Wendy. She is spunky and fun and says exactly what she's thinking. She is also fiercely loyal. She showed up at the drop of a pointy hat when Joanna was in trouble even though she had been ostracized from the family for over 100 years. Also, she has an amazing emerald accessory that I would love to get my hands on. Wendy's curse is that she has only nine lives, but nine is more than us mere mortals get plus she gets to spend time running around as a cat. As curses go, this is one that wouldn't piss me off.

Joanna is the matriarch. She is the one in charge, and the one no one really questions. Motherhood is her curse. Destined to watch her children grow and die in an endless cycle.

Oh yeah... there's a love triangle. I'm going to call that a miss. How cool did those exploding flowers look, though?

Also a miss is Dash. I don't know if it's the actor or the writing, but I just find him boring.

Bits and pieces:

Why does no one notice the shifter's eyes? Guess they're usually busy getting attacked. Never mind.

How did the shifter know about the man stuck in the desert painting?

It was odd they left the pentagram on the floor after the fertility spell. I mean, wouldn't people come into the library the next day and get confused?

Lucky for desert guy that the Bent Elbow keeps candles in the bathroom, but I think that would be a fire hazard. Especially in a bar with all the drinking shenanigans.

Freya: "You know about me and my dreams."
Ingrid: "You're not psychic!"

Ingrid: "You only have one super power and it's your breasts."

Adam: "She wasn't very..."
Ingrid: "Smart?"
Adam: "I was going to say nice."
Ingrid: "Oh."

Ingrid: "If there was such a thing as witchcraft, and I somehow had the ability to use it, you would be the first person I would help."
At least she keeps her promises.

Wendy: "You deal with your curses and I'll deal with mine."

Joanna: "How many?"
Wendy: "Lives do I have left? I don't know. A few. Who keeps count?"

Joanna: "Do you know how many times I gave birth before they invented the epidural? Not to mention soap."

Wendy: "We're gonna have to work on getting that broomstick out of your ass, babe."

3 comments:

  1. Much agreement, LaureMack. I liked all four women immediately (well, especially Wendy and maybe not as much with Freya) and I find Dash boring, too.

    And personally, every library I've ever worked in has pentagrams on the floor. Okay, I made that up.

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  2. After reading this review I finally went back and watched this episode, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I wouldn't call it GREAT, but it was certainly watchable. And while I mostly agree with LaureMack that the strength is the four main characters, I think the actual strength is the actresses playing them, especially the mother and aunt. Don't get me wrong, Jenna Tatum and Rachel Boston are both very charming and insanely pretty. But if I decide to keep watching this series, it'll be for Julia Ormond and Madchen Amick(no, I'm not going to look up how to do the a with two dots thing for her first name).

    I also thought the love triangle was pretty "meh". Dash is likable but not remarkable, and Killian just makes me want to slap him across the face with a trout. Plus, clearly Killian knows more than he's letting on about their supernatural connection, which only makes him more of a douchebag(admit it, the term fits him perfectly).

    I can't remember the cop's name who was flirting with Ingrid, but the two of them were pretty cute together.

    So we've learned there's a connection between the two families that goes back a LONG time, anyone wanna bet Dash & Killian's mom is more than she appears? I doubt they'd have brought Virginia Madsen in just to play the disapproving future mother-in-law.

    The plotline of the Shifter, the dude trapped in the painting, and what he wants with Freya was much more interesting, I'm looking forward to seeing that develop.

    I only have one issue with the review. A new show about a bloodline of sister witches and not one mention of Charmed?? C'mon! :)

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  3. I really enjoyed the pilot of this show, but didn't keep up with it as I didn't expect it to last too long and I already had enough on my plate. Now that I no longer watch some of the shows I was in October (cough - TVD - cough), your review inspired me to try it again.

    I remembered what I had liked about it so much. The four main characters are great fun and the story is one I want to follow. Thanks for reminding me of such a gem.

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