Season finales of #TheBlacklist, #TheVampireDiaries, #TheOriginals, and the dirty book I read. @raynelola @NBCBlacklist @cwtvd @cworiginals

Last week was a big week for TV junkies everywhere.  I am one of them.  I had several shows I am faithful to wrap up their seasons and I spent a good portion of the time watching them crying like a great, big freak.  This post is a long one and contains spoilers for the shows listed down below, so, if you haven’t seen those finales, you probably don’t want to proceed unless you’re cool with being spoiled.

OH!  And on top of that, I read a FABULOUS book Thursday, so, I’m going to talk about that, too!

In This Post:

• The Blacklist Season 2 Finale
• The Vampire Diaries Season 6 Finale
• The Originals Season 2 Finale
• Supernatural Season 10 Finale
• Grey’s Anatomy Season 10 Finale
• Scandal Season 4 Finale
• Min (Thompson #1) by Lola Rayne

 

 

The Blacklist Season 2 Finale

Oh…..my…….fucking…….gawd………..

I figured I would start with The Blacklist because it’s going to be the longest.

I have been less than quiet about it, so I am sure some of you have heard I am a RAGING fan of the show The Blacklist.  As a writer, the show blows me away on a weekly basis.  The writing is tight and complex and all plot lines are covered from every possible angle leaving no plot holes ANYWHERE.

Bottom line – if you haven’t watched the show, you totally need to!  Oh, and you also probably shouldn’t read any further because I am going to spoil the shit out of it in 3……….2……….1…………

Right off the bat, we need to talk about Red Reddington, quite possibly my favorite character in television history.  Hands down.  Best character ever.

I’ve had a theory about Red since S01E01:  Red is Lizzy’s father.  Now, my reasoning for this has been compounded by several things over the two seasons (probably on purpose by the writers), but the biggest reason was during the Luther Braxton episodes, when Braxton had the head shrinker digging into Lizzy’s memories.  At the end of the episode, two things happen:

• First, the head shrinker told her that her memories had previously been suppressed and that although the events may be correct, the roles of the individuals in the memory may not.
• Second, Red made a comment to her about how the memories of a child cannot be trusted…….and he said as much as he looked on her with an emotional, pained expression.

Thursday’s finale gave us Blacklisters a fucking heart attack.  Well, this Blacklister anyway.  Lizzy remembered…… We learned that Lizzy was in fact that one that killed her father by shooting him while he was hitting her mom, and Red had been her “sin eater” and made it go away.  He had her memories of that night buried.  He cleaned up the mess and sheltered her from the fallout.  He protected her.

Holy shitpops!  My heart MELTED during the scene where Lizzy told Red that she remembered.  Between Megan Boone and James Spader’s performances, my……heart…….melted.  I have been DYING for the moment when Lizzy realized what Red was.  The only thing that would have made it better is if it turned out HE WAS HER FATHER.  lol  But, no, that is not what came out.  Of course, I am 100% sure we still don’t know everything, but I loved that she finally gave in and realized he actually cares about her beyond the existence and preservation of the Fulcrum.  The relief in Lizzy’s face from finally knowing a major piece of the truth warred with the haunted despair in Red’s eyes knowing that she finally understood and that he couldn’t protect her from it anymore.  Stunning moment.

Speaking of the Fulcrum.  Red pulled the damn trigger!  He showed the Fulcrum to key journalists in the global press!  I was absolutely shocked.  And, once again, in perfect Red fashion, he revealed everything to them with eloquence and just the sweetest touch of horror.  It was amazing.  The writers on this show are just absofuckinlutely brilliant.  I tried Googling this morning to see who the writers are and was unable to locate names in my quick search, but you better believe I will be tracking that information down.

And James Spader.  OMG, James Spader.  Did I mention how much I love Red Reddington?  I’m just a little bit in love with him.  Okay, a lot.  Spader is handed stellar writing and his delivery is simply perfection.  I don’t think another soul on this planet could possibly come close to owning that role the way he does.  I am such a fangirl for both him and the character.  I spend every episode waiting for that one Reddington speech that is almost guaranteed to be in the show, and in last night’s finale, during the scene with him unveiling the Fulcrum, he was on point.  Charming and positively frightening at the same time.  Loved it!

Also, the brief goodbye that Red and Dembe had was so sad.  It was super-quick but the genuine show of emotion from Red was what was so striking about it.  Watching, you just knew it was a goodbye and not a see you later moment..

Tom Keen was back in this episode and she TOTALLY BONED HIM!  Now, I fully admit it.  Ryan Eggold is hot.  Like, beyond reason.  But, every time they get close, I get a pit in my stomach.  I really do think he wants to change, but something just doesn’t sit right.  It may just be residual red flags.  I dont know.  *shrug*  Funniest moment in the entire episode:  “That was not deer blood on the windshield.”

I could have reached in the TV and killed Tom Connolly.  He’s such a raging dick.  Now, he’s a dead raging dick.

And finally, the episode ended with this:

One of my favorite songs from this season of The Blacklist:
Featured in the episode The Major – Heist by X Ambassadors

The Vampire Diaries Season 6 Finale

You know, I honestly went into this episode expecting to be FINE with Elena’s exit from the show.  I had heard that she was leaving the show a week or two before hand, and as shocking as the news was initially, the more I thought about it, I figured it was actually kind of a good move.  She and Damon can’t stay happy forever.  That wouldn’t make good TV.  In the books, she flip-flopped back and forth between Stefan and Damon (something that was infuriating to read, because even when I read them back in the day before the show was a thing, I was a HUGE fan of Damon’s) and I really don’t think the TV Land audience would tolerate the story line going in that direction.

Anyway, I watched the episode fully expecting to be fine with it.

Yeah, not so much.

I cried.  Like a great big bitch.

That was the most heart-wrenching season ending ever.

Elena aside, Caroline better get her head out of her ass and give in to Stefan already.  I thought that was a bit of a weird pairing when it first started turning that way, but I think it could be good.

Now, how to get Damon and Bonnie to hook up……

Oh, and seriously, who else is going to miss the shit out of Kai????  I am a little bit bummed out that he ended up headless.  He was probably the most fun villain TVD has had yet.  #RIPKai  #BadGuysNeedLoveToo

The Originals Season 2 Finale

I want to start off by saying I love this show so much.  Almost more than TVD, I think.  It’s like The Vampire Diaries except much, much darker.

And it’s got Niklaus Mikaelson.  Klaus is the character you just can’t decide to love or hate.  I, for one, love him to death.  He’s fantastic.  This episode was another shining example of why he’s so much fun to watch.  With Klaus, no matter how enraged he may seem, you’re never 100% sure what his motives are until the game is completely played out.  This time around, there were casualties of war, some possibly unforgivable, but in the end, he hadn’t really teamed up with Dahlia.  He played her.  The plot twist was brilliant.  *nods while smiling*

Although some of the plotlines had a happy ending, the night also ended with the Crescent Curse in full swing, Elijah’s new little girlfriend a pile of ash, Esther and Dahlia finally dead, and Davina the Grand Poobah of the Witches.

One thing I will say is Davina better not go on another war path of revenge.  Out of the entire show, hers is the one story line I think is getting a bit tired.  Her character could have a spectacular story line, but she’s got to let go of the past and move forward.  I get that the vampires have brought her an ass load of trouble, but there are also many times that if not for the vampy crowd, the little witch wouldn’t even be alive.  As much as she hates them, they’ll always win.  Otherwise, the show wouldn’t be called The Originals.  lol

Quick Reactions to the Others

There are a handful of other shows I watch that I want to give quick comment on.  Here’s the run down:

Grey’s Anatomy – The season finale seemed like a series finale.  The way it ended seemed like what you would see when they are wrapping up a series all together, especially with the one year jump forward in time. As season finales go, it was a bit of a dud.

Supernatural – #RIPCharlie  Dean’s totally going to go off the rails next season and I cant wait!  #BadGuysNeedLoveToo

Scandal – Olivia + Fitz = BARF WORTHY.  I really hate them together.  Ugh, gross.  #TeamJake

Min (Thompson #1) by Lola Rayne

I posted this to Pure Textuality on Friday, but I am going to share it here:

I am a little late getting this review done, and I really regret not reading the book sooner. I picked it up yesterday morning, and the book didn’t close until I reached the end.

Our main character, Min, is a little hard to explain. Racked with a severe case of social anxiety, she doesn’t handle public situations well. She doesn’t really handle them at all. She clams up and doesn’t talk. Yet, when she’s around her friends or when you’re reading internal dialog, she carries the author’s signature snark and humor. As the reader, you can see from the very beginning that the character has the potential to blossom into a really strong female lead. I cant want to get my hands on the next book to see how she progresses further in getting over her crippling fears to really take control of her life.

Our main male character, Faux, doesn’t really seem like a “main” character when we are first introduced to him, but when he really makes his big entrance in the story, I challenge any female reader not to fall madly in love with this man. He’s got the hot looks and the swagger to be able to win over even the frostiest of pearl-clutchers out there. The banter between Faux and Min is priceless. These two characters could not possibly be more different, and yet, they play perfectly off of each other.

As I mentioned, there is plenty of humor in this book. There are even some parts that were so funny, I had to stop reading for a few minutes because I was losing my shit laughing at my desk. If not for any other reason, you need to read this book simply for the description of a stripper’s dancing. I’m not going to blow it because you totally need to read it for yourself. Just trust me….fucking hilarious.

When I write my reviews, I try to list out anything I didn’t like about the book. I have been sitting here going over the Kindle copy to try and nail down anything I took issue with and I came up empty handed. The book is pure entertainment from the very first page. The love story is so sweet and yet unbelievably hot at the same time. I honestly wouldn’t change a thing.

One thing I will caution is I feel this book starts to dip its toes into the erotic romance pool. It doesn’t take a headfirst dive into the erotic romance pool, but it’s definitely not far off from doing so. Listed as New Adult Contemporary Romance, I was pleasantly surprised by how HOT the book is. One scene in particular had me feeling a bit like a Peeping Tom, and there isn’t even full-on sex in it! Hot hot hot!

Overall, Min is an excellent, quick read. I am dying to know what happens in the next book! This is a series I will definitely be following.

*ONLY $0.99 AT TIME OF POSTING*