Haven 4.08 Review: Doing the Right Thing

For all those that have yet to watch Friday’s newest episode of Haven, titled ‘Crush’, I suggest that you go and do that now before reading ahead. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

So, it seems like the two creeps from inside the door are going around giving Troubled families changing Troubles, as well as this week giving two untroubled brothers their very own Troubles. This is the mayhem and chaos that the opening of the door threatened would bring about, and I have to say that while the acting wasn’t quite great from our guest stars, this is what I’ve been waiting for a little more than last week. It’s just stupid that those crab things are an omen of the chaos coming forth.

This whole thing with the handprint makes me wonder if this door opening in the first place wasn’t the beginning of the Troubles in Haven. Maybe whomever Audrey was first was given the first handprint to help the Troubles go away for a period, or any number of other explanations. This definitely opens this series up to an excessive amount of mythology that, if done right, could prove to give this series several more brilliant seasons. For now, the first three seasons seem to be the best, but this is a clinching moment that could bring forth new, mysteriously great material.

Elsewhere in the episode, there were some great things to it. Eric Balfour really brought his dramatic A game this week, with his struggle to get passed having to kill his brother to save Jennifer’s life – who, by the way, seemed a little too okay after the ordeal. His dislike of how basically Audrey coming into his life set him into motion of becoming a hero kind of character, rather than the selfish one he started off as, was quite a conundrum and compelling writing. Although, while I am glad he decided to stay and help out, and be the person he is now, I do think his relationship with Jennifer came a little too quickly. I know Audrey said she loved Nathan, but that Duke could get over his feelings for her that soon is still a little too much for me.

This week I really loved Vince and Dave again. They’re beginning to go back to the more mysterious, bickering characters that covered up Troubled happenings with their newspaper that they used to be. I also loved getting to see Nathan sneak off before Vince found him at Audrey’s place. Such a funny moment, despite the heightened duress it would cause the town if he was caught and Audrey was found out. That is, until the end, where we learn Audrey killing the one she loves would now bring about destruction. But then there’s a shot, and we won’t know until next week (insert disappointed face here), when William appears to come back into things.

Overall, the writing had its moments this week for some things, while others not so much. The guest actors weren’t great, but I was really happy with Duke, Audrey, and Nathan this week, as well as Vince and Dave. I continue to be intrigued by who Jennifer’s parents were, and why Agent Howard worked her adoption. Who is she, and what is her connection to the barn? I really hope this mystery isn’t dragged on for seasons like who the Colorado Kid was. Otherwise this episode was pretty good.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Now the question is, are you ready to meet them on purpose?” – Vince asks Jennifer, regarding her birth parents.

“It’s a Trouble, Chicken Little.” – Vince bickers with his brother.

“Awe, come on, can’t I just leave?” – Duke says to the universe.

“I never know what they’re talking about.” – Duke mutters, in regards to Vince and Dave.

All caught up now at least, I just have to review today’s episodes of Once Upon A Time and Revenge. I’m off to go write those, so stick around.

Haven 4.04 Review: Making a Leap of Faith

I’m going to keep this quick, all those that have yet to watch this past Friday’s episode of Haven, titled ‘Lost and Found’, or are simply not caught up at all and are hoping to do so without spoilers, then now would be the time to leave. As with all my reviews, there is always the chance that sensitive information is included below. To reiterate, THIS BLOG MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

This week’s episode of Haven was quite well done. While it began with the usual case-of-the-week pertaining to the Troubles that Nathan, and this season Dwight, has to solve, the tension of finding Audrey finally came to it’s conclusion. The only problem is, she’s not Audrey anymore.

The way this episode was written, I really felt the tension of desperately trying to find Audrey this episode. Nathan had grown as impatient as the rest of the Troubled people, especially those in the Guard, so it definitely was time for Audrey to come out. And just the way she came out, and who she’s come out as, helps to heighten all the questions that still need to be answered regarding this series

But let’s get back to the beginning of this episode. The Trouble-of-the-week turned out to be this man having to come to terms with the fact being unable to have kids was his fault, and in the process his Trouble started and Douen (yes, that’s how you spell it, I looked it up) began luring children out to the woods. While this Trouble-of-the-week thing is tad bit old at this point, I did find the picture of one of those Douen being frighteningly creepy. It got my heart racing a bit, and I’m a horror movie buff.

The one other thing this weekly Trouble helped shine the light on was children, and the idea of where Audrey and Nathan’s son went. He basically says he caused his death, in a way, giving us a more concrete answer to what happened to him, the Colorado kid. But I’m curious, is he actually dead, or does Nathan just think he’s dead. He did, after all, go back into the barn, thus saving his life in the process, as Audrey did, so did he somehow manage to get out. Because honestly, couldn’t his wound be healed by modern medicine? Also, could William possibly be the son? He has to be someone.

One other thing I liked about this episode was the interactions between Duke and Jennifer. While they keep seeming to go back and forth between whether they’re going to pair them up or not, they were pleasantly just being friendly this episode. Duke having to calm Jennifer down and distract her so she could hear Audrey in the barn was rather comical. The yoga fail, the hilarious comfortable way she sat for meditating, and being hung upside down from the higher level of Duke’s boat were hilarious, in a quieter kind of way.

The best thing, though, about this episode was the complete lack of Duke’s brother, whose name I forget at the moment because I can’t stand the guy (I could look it up, but – again – I can’t stand the guy). He is such a pointless addition to this season, where Duke already has Jennifer to interact with, and now a new alter ego of Audrey’s. The character was written in to stay and terribly, and I was just fantastically happy to not to have to deal with him this episode, where we finally find Audrey again.

A few notes concerning the episode. Nathan looked amazing in that leather jacket, he should always wear it. Also, Duke should really cut his hair. Like Sam in Supernatural, it’s far too long, and not necessary for the story, so stop being so damn lazy and just do it already. It’s fine up in a bun, but he shouldn’t need to do that. And can I also just comment on the final scene in the episode? The whole build up to Audrey, and the anticipation of her being able to end the Troubles for good, and she doesn’t even remember who she is. That was amazing.

I have a few questions stemming from this episode that I haven’t already addressed. What was up with the in-between? I’m guessing from Dave’s reaction to the door, it contains a fair amount of supernatural mojo, but I’m curious to know more about it. Also, similarly, what was up with that ripple? Did the door just let out a whole lot of paranormal they won’t be able to handle, or at least used to? I’m sure as the season progresses, these will be answered somewhat, but the questions can still be asked. Also, why was Audrey the stopper for the Troubles? Who was she originally? One last question, while I completely expected it, William explained to Audrey/Lexie that she’d come out as the person she most wanted to be, being that she was Lexie at the time, that would be the person she’d most want to be. So my question is, how had she forgotten being Audrey so quickly? She’s in the barn for twenty-seven years every time before this, so how was this persona crafter so readily? Was it a rainy-day persona?

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“The time travelling barn that turned ten seconds into six months for me, that barn?” – Duke asks Nathan ludicrously.

“Seventeen … Lives, Jordan, not just messes.” – Nathan says, having counted up all the lives he is at fault for, by killing Agent Howard.

“Yes, that’s why they call it a leap of faith.” – William dryly tells Lexie (Audrey).

I’m off to watch Once Upon A Time now… Then it’s Revenge and nothing more until tomorrow night. 

Haven 4.03 Review: Right When Your About to Give Up

Let’s get this out of the way. Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of Haven, titled ‘Bad Blood’, and wishes to do so spoiler free, now would be the time to exit this blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

How to begin… This week’s episode of Haven was about a Trouble where blood was going after people and sucking them dry of their own. Unsurprisingly, there was the comparison to vampires, but at least this wasn’t an actual theory the characters were focusing on.

‘Bad Blood’ was okay, but it wasn’t the best that could’ve been written. My favourite parts were still the scenes surrounding Audrey/Lexie and William, and also the scenes at the morgue. I thought Richard Donat did very well in playing Vince not wanting to go in to guarantee whether or not Audrey was the body on ice. As long as he stayed outside the morgue, there would still be a chance that the body wasn’t Audrey. Then when we learned it wasn’t, it fit perfectly back into the moment where William tells Audrey/Lexie that she isn’t dead.

Without Audrey, I don’t think I’m much of a fan of Nathan. This brooding crap he’s emitting isn’t all that interestingly done, and not something I haven’t seen before. He’s kind of boring and one-dimensional at the moment, and I’d really like to see that change. His best moments were actually the ones with Jordan near the end, where she expresses just how much she doesn’t want to be stuck like this, and even then he didn’t really say much, it was more about his physical acting.

I’m really getting sick of this Wade character. He’s not convincing in this series, especially not as Duke’s brother. The writing for him is just not believable to me, and it’s just so cliché that he sticks around because his wife is cheating on him. And can I just say, how much he’s not acting like he’s hurt by that fact? The guy seems more wooden then anything. I’m completely surprised too, because I know he did well on Dexter, but on this show he’s just terrible.

While I’m going back and forth with this Jennifer character, particularly the way they keep writing her constantly changing, she wasn’t the worst part of this episode. I like it every time she’s kind of displaying nervousness, she’s definitely the most convincing in that. Whenever she started hearing the noises from the bar where Audrey/Lexie is in her head was certainly obvious, but interesting all the same.

The Sasquatch is still as wooden as ever. I really can’t stand him in the forefront of this series. It was interesting the first time he brought up being a cleaner coming in handy, but it was necessary to fit that in more than once. Those lines almost made it seem like he was bragging about, or really just reading off a script without actually acting. He was a much better character in the background, popping in and out, and keeping him up front and center is not improving his character. I get the logic behind him becoming Chief, now, but he’s just not a very good actor.

I’m still having trouble believing there isn’t some other way to make the Troubles go away for good. It can’t be simply for Audrey to sacrifice/kill her one love. There has to be some other way to keep them gone, and it better be something that makes sense when they finally do come out with it. It just doesn’t feel logical to me that the only way to give everyone a happy life in Haven, that she has to lose what makes her happy.

Also, where’s Audrey’s son? If the barn is dying, is he dead? That was such a big part of last season, and the previous seasons, being that he’s the Colorado Kid that Audrey was searching for for so long, and now that’s been basically forgotten. Will that be brought up again? I really think we deserve something more than just a disappearing act.

One other thing I was curious about in this episode, what was with all of the animal comparisons? I know they explained that Duke had been watching Animal Planet, or something, but what was the point to that? He doesn’t quite come across as someone that just watches documentary programs about animals. Plus, he didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about it every time he brought it up. And also, has he already gotten over Audrey? He seems to have moved on pretty easily. Love triangle for three seasons, and then just instant progression for a character that hasn’t seen the woman in about a couple weeks.

Alas, I relent.

My rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Best Lines:

“Slowing down for a yellow is just a matter of taste.” – Dave, after having driven Vince’s car to the station.

“I don’t think it wants any of us, Sasquatch.” – Duke, referring to Dwight as the man-beast.

All right, that’s all for now. Don’t forget to check back in on Sunday for my reviews of Once Upon a Time and Revenge’s third season premieres. If you’re lucky, I might actually review Betrayal as well, if I get around to watching it.