Haven 4.13 Review: Giving In to What Feels Right

For all those that have yet to watch Friday night’s episode of Haven, entitled ‘The Lighthouse’, now would be your last chance to do so before proceeding ahead. For this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Well, I have to say this season finale definitely had its moments. I really enjoyed the point where William realizes a piece of his past love has clicked in Audrey when she re-Troubles Duke. Colin Ferguson is such an amazing actor, he was so great this season, especially the last few episodes, that I desperately hope he is not gone for good and that we get to see him again next season.

Also, I am extremely excited to get to know Mara more, Audrey’s original incarnation. The little bits of story that have filtered in this series certainly make sense, despite how sci-fi the whole Door business was; I am interested in this actual personality. That last line that Emily Rose spoke, as Mara, were incredibly heightening of my excitement for next season to come sooner. Audrey has been such a do-gooder, wanting to help, and that’s all very nice and good of her, but I am so beyond intrigued to learn who this more dangerous character is, and the history of her and William in that town.

That being said, there were several things I was disappointed with. Like I’ve said before, Jennifer was not written into this series well, she just seemed to take over completely. I’m really hoping she’s not back next year. Also, the extreme sci-fi nature of the Door, and what they opened. The Barn was one thing, this came across as a little much. And it wasn’t quite explained well, the whole being from another place was the four people that were needed to open the Door. I thought Audrey – or really Mara – and William were both from this place but were punished and sent into the Door. That’s one thing I’m rather confused about, and could’ve been explained better. The other thing I wasn’t happy about, was how this whole symbol ended up on Vince’s arm, and yet he had nothing to do with opening the Door, it was his brother. I didn’t understand that at all.

All in all, I am rather intrigued to see where they go with this series next season. I don’t really feel like this season was as tightly written as it should’ve been; there was a lot of filler bits to this season that weren’t necessary, and it was very slow going. That being said, Colin Ferguson was definitely a welcome addition to the show, and Duke – for the most part – was as wonderful as always. I was so happy for him to get the Crocker curse back, but I really hope he’s able to get all the curses coming to him under control. Let’s be honest, though, they’re not going to kill Duke Crocker off the series, he’s one of the best things it’s got going for him, although he could go for a haircut. Basically, this was an uneven season, but it had more things I loved than past seasons have.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“You saw it. I’ve won.” – William states, regarding Audrey.

“There’s a guy that knows what’s on the other side of that door. You and me should go for a beer.” – William says to Dave.

“He’s as good as dead. Now, who’s going to help me get William back?” – A freshly awakened Mara remarks.

Okay, I may get around to doing a full season review of this show next week, when I’m all done and caught up with the other four reviews. Check back tomorrow (or really later today) for my reviews of Once Upon A Time, Revenge, How I Met Your Mother, and Almost Human.

How I Met Your Mother 9.08 Review: Never Settle for Less than What Makes You Happy

Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother, entitled ‘The Lighthouse’, that are hoping to do so devoid of spoilers, now would be the time to stop reading and go watch the episode. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! Proceed with caution.

So, we’ve finally made it to Saturday morning, with thirty-three hours to go before the wedding. I’ve made it eight episodes into this season of the longest wedding weekend ever, and I’m calling it now, this is not working. The way this is being written is completely ridiculous. I can’t keep track of time, Daphne is an annoyingly useless character, and none of these characters really feel like their getting to interact with each other. This is not the same series that I fell in love with; I am thoroughly disappointed with its farewell season.

On the road, Marshall and Daphne stopped in at Ted’s old house, and stayed the night under Ted’s mom and Clint’s roof. All fine and dandy to want to stop in with these characters for the last time, but it’s kind of uselessly written in there. Was this the best reason the writers could come up with to get these actors back on this show? It seems pretty pathetic, and aggravates the writer in me.

Ted, on the other hand, decides to accept the advise of a woman angry at her significant other, and takes the woman he can barely stand, aside from her looks, up a lighthouse. Anna Camp’s character is also the seemingly last, annoyingly useless roadblock in the way before Ted meets the titular Mother, and that can’t come soon enough. Seriously, I was expecting she’d at least meet someone other than Lily by now, because even with the flash-forwards, I’m not really feeling like her character fits in Ted’s life. She’s almost too much like him, and that scene at the end; I know I’d get bored with someone that was almost exactly like me. I’m very disappointed with the way they’re going with the Mother we waited eight seasons to finally meet. She’s cute as a button, sure, but I’m not seeing the connection yet between her and Ted. But maybe I’m the only one.

There was some sweetness to the Robin and Barney situation, but I find it kind of hard to believe that someone’s own mother wouldn’t attend their daughter’s wedding, with such short notice. What was the point of even becoming a mother if you didn’t want to be there for your child? Still, it was nice to get a sweet moment between Robin and Barney’s mom, when Robin broke down a bit. And we learned that Barney did know Robin couldn’t have kids, but then I could’ve sworn she’d told him in that bathroom last Thanksgiving. Again, I could be wrong, I haven’t watched that episode since then, and it’s drawing mostly a blank.

The other nice thing about this episode was Lily. I enjoyed her seeing judge related terminology in everything she hears that morning, although it was a little farfetched that she didn’t cut her hands with how many glasses she broke. This temperament seemed very Lily, and a nice personality trait to be able to depend on. Also, did anyone else think Alyson Hannigan looked great in this episode, better than she has pre-baby? Her hair and dress were both amazing this week.

Alas, I may stay disappointed in this series’ final season until the end. The whole set up is proving to be too much of a creative change; trust me when I say that changing a series’ dynamic for a show’s knowledgeable final season was not a smart decision. They took a gamble this year, and it’s proving to have failed, at least in my books.

My rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Morning, bitches. Like my new blouse?” – Robin says to the room.

“Drivin’ a car, Clint.” – Marshall states, in regards to not being able to do trust falls.

“I hate this song.” – Daphne whines. “Give it time.” – Marshall replies, regarding his and Ted’s road trip song ‘500 Miles’.

Okay, so that’s going to be all for tonight. I have watched Bones, Sleepy Hollow, and The Blacklist, but I won’t be writing those reviews tonight, after my seventh shift of work in a row. I’m tired, and I’m going to go sleep or watch Buffy, not sure yet which will come first. I wasn’t going to do any, but I wasn’t quite ready to go to sleep after checking my email, and I’d just watched three and a half hours of television and needed a break from that, so here this is. Goodnight and see you tomorrow.