Beauty and The Beast: S01E07 - Out of Control.

Don't worry I won't be dropping this show, I'm really pleased this is going to have at least one full season. No the show isn't particularly good but it's damn entertaining. So onwards, hope you enjoy!


Once again, Out Of Control is largely plotless, we have a case of the week and lots of plot threads sure but this is a heavily serialised show, with only the case of the week wrapped up by the end, sandwiched by loads of loose ends. Not one big, cohesive narrative.

Today's case involves a seemingly mauled body on a Uni campus, who turns out to be an utter douchebag, so no one cares that he is dead (although this detail is largely meaningless by the end). The episode is carefully edited to make us believe Vincent did it, which means he didn't, the real killer practised on a corpse year earlier, leaving his unique mark on a cadaver, leading Evan into getting kidnapped by a wannabe Copycat Killer. It has a few surprising twists and turns and does a great job of creating tension and raised stakes. All culminating to a nice bit of internal continuity and the interesting device of Cat using Vincent and his powers to save Evan, who Vincent is extremely jealous of. This adds further plot for later episodes, Monster Vincent's brutal slaying and this weeks killer, bumps him right up the top of the most wanted list.

Although Evan originally seemed to largely exist as a plot device I think this episode really suggests that he has the most interesting future and may well have bumped him up to my favourite character. The police are only now really putting the Vincent pieces together and gunning for him and with Evan being saved by Vincent, becoming personally involved in the mystery of it all and getting an extra connection to Cat to boot, I'm really excited for what the future will bring and do to him.

Although there isn't much in the way of action this week, we get some pretty cool set-piece moments thanks to Vincent's new, uncontrollable hulkouts. If nothing else, Beauty and The Beast has a lot of style, this is probably in part to hide budget limitations but it's good the show makes something of it, making it one of the best looking shows I've not only chosen to review but out of all the shows I watch in my real life too. The episode does a great job at really capturing a sense of pure, brutal, primal power. Monster Vincent is awesome.

However, as cool as Vincent hulking out is, it's a shame that it's just another wedge driven between him and Cat. We've got the full season, at least, but we're over quarter of the way through the series now and these two haven't shared one, proper romantic moment apart from a few dialogue exchanges that sound like the kind of things I'd say when I was fourteen. And if Vincent's lose of control is really triggered by Cat, then they can't ever be romantically involved, right? This is just getting really tiring now, this particular plotthread is just retread over and over, how many circles is this show going to take when it comes to those two, just to pad itself out? Although it does give us an excuse for loads of shirtless Jay Ryan and I don't think anyone in the audience is complaining about that. He spends around half the episode with his shirt off. He's like a blend of Jacob Black and the Hulk.

One of the greatest flaws with Beauty and the Beast, much like with Arrow, is that the central character is also the weakest. Cat isn't a bad character so much, she just has child levels of naivety to the point of infuriation, to the point where logic and common sense go out the window. This wouldn't really be a problem either, but she is meant to be a cop - how did she ever make it to where she is with her brain aching stupidity? I hate her so much.

Although a little goofy at times, I think this is probably the best episode of the show so far. The episode blends elements together really well, it opens practically like a horror film, it has big, fantastical set piece moments and scenes of genuine hilarity and all the parts fit and make sense, they work. Maybe the show doesn't feel cohesive in terms of narrative but the dramatic shifts in tone never feel jarring or out of place. It just works, this can be said for the show as a whole, too. For all of its faults and weaknesses, I'm really enjoying this series. And the future is looking just as bright.

Pros;

• This episode is well put together.
• The episode is well written.
• Evan and what the future may hold for him.
• Monster Vincent.
• Just an all round great episode.

Cons;

• I wish the show didn't have so many bits and pieces, it doesn't feel like a mess so much but with so many threads and plots and central characters with different stories and motivations, it can leave everything feeling somewhat fragmented. 
• The episode is a little goofy in places. 
• Cat is an awful central character. 
• Another wedge between Cat and Vincent.

Think About It!

-Locke