Review by An Honest Fangirl
"You've been by my side for so long—"
"But I've never liked you."
"I know."
A few hours ago, I went on record saying that "Lemuel Unchained" was the best episode of the series. I had a feeling that I would eat those words, and I was right.
This episode was awesome. They somehow managed to fix all of the major complaints that I've been having with the show. Honestly, at this point I'm just wondering why this couldn't have happened sooner.
Fiji has always been a favorite character of mine. She's inherently a good person, someone who cares about others and puts their wellbeing above her own. I was excited to get a deeper look into the forces that shaped her to be like that.
Poor Jeremy, though. That whole relationship was incredibly sad. As soon as Fiji admitted to being a virgin, you knew that something awful was going to happen to him. I'm not sure if his death was Fiji's fault, though. I watch with subtitles, and they read "demonic roaring" while he was being burned alive. Could it have been Colconnar's influence? A way to make sure the Fiji remained a virgin? Or maybe Jeremy was a demon from the start, and his death was intentional. I suppose that we'll find out next week.
We also got some continued fallout from Lem and Olivia's fight last episode. Those two just broke my heart. Like Bobo said, they make sense together. But it's also perfectly understandable why Olivia would decide to end the relationship now. She's built her life around finding safety and not trusting anyone. So when the one person that she loves betrays her in such a way, it's going to leave some kind of scar. I just hope that their break up doesn't mean that one of them is going to end up in mortal peril for the finale. Just let them live! And let Olivia remain a human. They deserve that much.
While Olivia and Lem were fracturing, Creek and Manfred grew closer together again. I've never been that invested in this couple, but Creek lying down with her head on Manfred's chest was very sweet. I'm not worried about them the same way that I am about Lem and Olivia. Manfred is essentially the protagonist, so he's safe. And Creek's just been through so much already this season that I don't think the writers will be that cruel to her.
While I'll always put the characters first, the plot also really held up on its own this episode. The wraiths and demonic Jeremy were both very unsettling, effective villains. And they all survived to next week! I know! I almost didn't believe it myself. The mad dash away from the sand storm was also rather tense and well done.
It was inevitable that Fiji would willingly agree to go to Colconnar. She cares too much about people not to. But the interest came from seeing what exactly would be the final straw. I genuinely thought that it would have something to do with Bobo. He's been very clear about his feelings for her, and I'm fairly certain that she returns them. Threatening him seemed to be the logical thing to do. I was certainly not expecting it to be Manfred's death.
For a moment, I wondered if they would actually go there and kill Manfred off. In hindsight, it's obvious that they wouldn't. But I wondered for a moment, and that's always a fun feeling. Death, or the afterlife, or wherever he ended up was very cool looking. I liked how one of Manfred's first thoughts was whether or not Xylda was there.
My affection for Midnight, Texas has been waning recently, but this episode restored my faith in the show. And with only one episode left, it deserves to have that much. Let's see what happens in the finale.
Random Thoughts
MR. SNUGGLY!!!!!!! And he survived! Honestly, that's all that matters.
I'm not quite sure how I feel about the bright red flashes that signaled a flashback. I think they grew on me?
The vamp bus made a reappearance.
We got another mention of Olivia's dad. I'm really surprised that he hasn't made an appearance this season. Maybe they're saving it for a potential (albeit unlikely) season 2?
Quotes (There's a lot of Mr. Snuggly. I've missed him.):
Aunt Mildred: I am witch. And you are too.
Fiji: Cool.
Mr. Snuggly: *meows*
Manfred: I don't want to hear it.
Creek: I was worried about everyone. And you in particular.
Mr. Snuggly: Dear God, get a room.
Manfred: Who said that?
Creek: Wait. What?
Mr. Snuggly: Everybody shut up. Take me. I'm sick of this life.
Olivia: Is that cat talking?
Bobo: He is.
Manfred: You two good?
Lem: No. I'm up in daylight. Walking into the sun.
Olivia: Ugh! Quit complaining! And move!
Lem: You enjoying this? Payback?
Olivia: Ha! If this was payback, you'd be naked.
Okay, now I really can't wait for next week.
An Honest Fangirl loves superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, and really bad horror movies.
Yeah, I liked it, too. They seem to be finding themselves, but way too near the end.
ReplyDeleteI loved Lem's out in the daylight costume. He looked like The Shadow. :) And I was really worried that we might lose Mr. Snuggly. Can't have that. Please, write out *anyone* but Mr. Snuggly, guys.