End of Nights, Part 1 (201)

[Rocky89]

now for my review...

the episode was great!

i'll start with cons:

i saw a bit of a flaw, green screen wise, in one scene where helen and the gang were in that large room, discussing something. not a biggie at all, though.

i wanted more of the car chase, only b/c amanda was driving!


the pros:

first off, the way the ep was filmed, using split screens and such, was brilliant! quite a neat effect that i wasn't expecting.

ashley!! i really felt bad what was happening to her. i can't see how this is going to turn out good for her... (((ash)))

the woman scientist, injecting ash, was interesting, mostly b/c she seemed to feel actually bad about what she was doing. not bad enough, obviously, to NOT do it, but it added an interesting twist.

nice scene between henry and bigfoot. (let's loose bigfoot instead of ashley )

henry! his scene, where he was crying...

the new girl is alright (kate). not at all as annoying as vala (was afraid of this), but still not someone i'm looking forward to seeing more of. yet.

the scene where they all confront vampash; it was great how quickly john grabbed everyone to get them away from her. he knew this was a losing battle.

also a lovely scene between helen and john, sitting wherever they were with the huge moon. i liked what she said about knowing that violence was already in him, still in him, whether tesla exorcised it out of him or not. that obviously haunts helen... she'll never be able to let her heart open to him b/c of it.

(my best for last)

and helen... great scene where she was ready to shoot kate -which i don't blame her for- to get her to talk. didn't help that kate was being snarky. and then wil's great line about her manors matching jack the rippers. i like where the helen-wil relationship is headed, that they can talk so honestly with each other.

but my fave scene was the standoff with helen and ash. you could see the turmoil helen was going through. and helen's anger and plea to john to take her back. as usual, wonderful acting from amanda!!

but i'll tell you... when helen said what she thought was happening, of how the cabal were making super beings, all from ashley... i felt right there, we were seeing how this situation with ashley is going to turn out. i said it to my mom... they're going to kill ashley.


an *excellent* episode and wonderful premier!!

Great I'm glad you love it hon.

... i don't think Will will be able to stop her, if ashley dies. it won't matter what he says... i'm *almost* looking forward to the scene (i saw it in my head last night when i went to bed). helen would tear the cabal leader inside out. i want her to!

I think you just want to see Amanda act her heart out.

I've read a lot of reviews about the episode and and overall they're quite positive. I can't wait to see more eps and I hope S2 stays as strong as it is now (if not stronger) all the way to the last episode.

[the fifth man]

After this premiere, I have even higher hopes now for this season.

[Kratos_Goauld_of_War]

I forgot about my favorite line of the whole episode. Even better than the Huggy Bear thing.

Before they go off to storm the warehouse Henry says:

"Have fun....storming the castle."

That was sweeeeet.

[Inward Wind]

Overall, pretty good start to the new season. I liked that either they have really improved the green screen or they didn't shoot as much in front of it because the overall effect was much more real in this episode.

I like the little bit darker Magnus. She's not gone too far like the web-episodes, but is definately not as laid back as she was last season. It's a good fit.

Boy...Henry seems to have filled out this season . Lookin' good. But I agree that getting duped in the warehouse was pretty lame.

Druitt--last season he seemed so tortured and remorseful at the end. Now he seems to have somewhat lost that. I don't know if he has just come to accept himself more, if this thing with Ashley has hardened him a bit or if maybe he has started to go back to the dark side (in small amounts).

Thought Emile did a nice job with Ashley's character. I like how the situation presents a bit of anguish with Helen. Makes you really feel for Helen and Ashley. Hope though they do get her out of it. I can see how this experience, though, could allow for more growth on Ashley's part in the future. Shel, I also noticed how Ashley woke up to her mothers voice and saw the image of her mother in her eyes. That helped pull a little bit more on my heart strings...very sad.

Don't like the Kate Freelander character. I do like Telsa but, I really hope they don't keep him as a permanent character. I think he adds more as someone who shows up now and then to add to that particular episode. I know it's still early but I don't feel the click with the group dynamics of Helen, Druitt, Henry, Will and Telsa. I really hope they keep the team like it was last season.

Finally...one thing I do wish they would have done is not jumped so far ahead since last season ended. I think it is suppose to be like 6 months later, isn't it? I would have rather seen at least small glimpses into what they have all been going through since they took Ashley. I know there is a time factor as far as moving the show along, but I feel like if we could have seen those glimpses we would be even more connected to the characters plight and understood more where they are now at emotionally.

[slurredspeech]

Finally...one thing I do wish they would have done is not jumped so far ahead since last season ended. I think it is suppose to be like 6 months later, isn't it?

Nope, six weeks.

[Inward Wind]

Nope, six weeks.

Really?? I thought for sure they said six months. My bad.

[allfornot]

Well that was certainly the weakest of the shows I watch on Fridays. SGU was great, Clone Wars was terrific, Dollhouse finally had it's first good episode this season, and Sanctuary, well....

Ugh, what a letdown of a season opener. It was nice to see them finally use Vancouver as Vancouver, and that one of the 'perfect' people was named Martin Wood (), but beyond that, bleh. Slow pacing, annoying new character, John there as little more than a transportation gimmick, Tesla accomplishing little more than drinking wine, Bigfoot doing his annoying panting thing--really, not one of the characters was playing to their strengths. And it didn't even come off as desperation, it just came off as bad, boring, and uninteresting. And let's not even go into that stupid multicamera thing they tried out. God forbid they should ever do that again; I think it may finally have bested the infamous "xx hours earlier" as the single most annoying storytelling technique ever conceived.

I like Sanctuary. I was a bit bored with its first few episodes, but then there were some really awesome winners toward the end of the season that left me with bated breath and just dying for season two to start. But this season premiere was a real stinker, IMO. I hope next week is better.

some people just want the world don't they....im guessing the only thing that would made you like the opener was to have john teleport you to appreciation zone. geesh...it was AMAZING! what did you want?

[DigiFluid]

some people just want the world don't they....im guessing the only thing that would made you like the opener was to have john teleport you to appreciation zone. geesh...it was AMAZING! what did you want?

A decent episode would've been nice. You know, like (most of) the second half of season 1.

[AtlantisRules!!!]

Niko was so awesome in this ep

And Henry, and Kate..

Ash/Druitt fight scene was pretty cool

[allfornot]

A decent episode would've been nice. You know, like (most of) the second half of season 1.

I think it was just a matter of flip floppery between all the cast...I mean, it was a good episode in my opinion but I suppose it was all over the place...i dont understand why you did not like it.

[DigiFluid]

I think it was just a matter of flip floppery between all the cast...I mean, it was a good episode in my opinion but I suppose it was all over the place...i dont understand why you did not like it.

I thought I was pretty clear about that the first time, apologies if I was not:

The story: I felt it was plodding and mostly uninteresting, end result boring. They spend a good chunk of the episode searching out dead end leads which, while important to showing the futility they were facing, were not especially well executed and felt laborious to have to sit through

The larger plot: Which probably should have been the main thrust of the episode, we got nearly nothing of. We get an awesome globetrotting, two-part season finale that involves all the characters working together and playing to their strengths, in order to uncover ancient secrets and how they apply to modern problems re: the Sanctuary and the Cabal. We get all kinds of new and cool background information on the significant and ancient role of vampires in human history, which in turn gives the story a lot of depth and a feel of being part of a grander story. And they pulled that off tremendously, it was a great finale.

But we come back and all that was for what, making a half a dozen mindless supersoldiers with the sole purpose of destroying the Sanctuary? That's a pretty damn big letdown, as far as I'm concerned. It's just not interesting. Why not use it to find a new way of destroying Abnormals, or creating vampiric creatures to hunt Abnormals, or create a whole new vampire to be pliable and use it to start taking over the world or something. That's just a bit of mindless brainstorming off the top of my head, but any of those would've been more entertaining.

The characters: I'll give props to Amanda Tapping. The woman is always a joy to watch, and the abduction of her character's daughter gives her a lot to work with.

Unfortunately, that seems to leave everyone else standing around trying to look important. Druitt did little more than provide a convenient means of teleporting people around the world, even though Ashley is his daughter too. Tesla's just chilling out drinking the wine cellar dry, Bigfoot's moping in his cell, Will's tending his e-relationship, and Henry....well, I have no idea what Henry's doing.

My point is, they give most of the cast nothing to do. And even Amanda Tapping, who has by far the best to work with, is also left a little in the lurch by a story that doesn't really go anywhere or do anything for 42 minutes.

Multi-shot: Now, that multi-camera-shot thing they had going on? I hope whoever thought that one up gets fired and blacklisted from ever working TV again. Seriously. Most annoying storytelling/shooting technique I've ever had the misfortune of suffering through. Completely setting aside the boring story for a moment, this 'technique' alone almost made me shut off the episode before I got to the end.




All put together, I thought it made for a pretty lousy episode. Like, 1 star out of 5 lousy and I'm only giving it that one because the "Martin Wood" thing managed to get a smile out of me. I'll keep watching, because I like the characters and the series mythology and want to know where they're going with it, but that certainly doesn't mean I have to like all the episodes

[Commander Zelix]

Great episode. It bode well for the rest of the season.

[Captain Kevin Roberts]

I have to say i am completely estatic about the season premiere!!! IT's truly some of the best! Amanda and Christopher are truly wickid actors and so are the many, many others on this show. I am sooooooo glad to have my weekly fix of Sanctuary and Stargate again!! Sanctuary is getting better and better from episode to episode and the ground breaking work with the Red One Camera is something else!! I didn't think i would like a show that was mostly green screen but, they completely devoured my doubts right away!

[WingedPegasus]

I liked it a lot. Definitely got me back in the Sanctuary mood. I missed these guys!

I didn't particularly like her, but the Kate character didn't grate on my nerves. I actually found the "Do I at least get Jell-O?!" comment hilarious. I'm having problems keeping her and the Invisible girl straight, though. They seem rather similar.

Speaking of invisible girl, the Clara/Will thing is icky. Just...do not want. They might be able to make it work, but I'm not liking it at the moment. On the plus side, Tesla was funny.

The scene with Bigfoot and Henry was really quite sad. Someone else mentioned this, but I'm starting to worry for Bigfoot's wellbeing more than Ashley's...speaking of whom...THEY HAD TO MAKE HER EVIL JUST TO GET RID OF THOSE ANNOYING BANGS?! WHAT??

Ahem. Creepy evil doctor-lady was creepy. And evil. I feel really bad for both Magnus and Ashley, and hope Ash doesn't stay evil too long.

The bad: Split screen was annoying. Hope they don't use it again--or at least use it more sparingly. Like, once an episode at most.


Now, whatever are they going to do with the lady who has the perfect DNA? Somehow I feel that she'll feature more prominently in the next episode. Perhaps the Sanctuary could be tempted to make their own superabnormal?

[allfornot]

I thought I was pretty clear about that the first time, apologies if I was not:

The story: I felt it was plodding and mostly uninteresting, end result boring. They spend a good chunk of the episode searching out dead end leads which, while important to showing the futility they were facing, were not especially well executed and felt laborious to have to sit through

The larger plot: Which probably should have been the main thrust of the episode, we got nearly nothing of. We get an awesome globetrotting, two-part season finale that involves all the characters working together and playing to their strengths, in order to uncover ancient secrets and how they apply to modern problems re: the Sanctuary and the Cabal. We get all kinds of new and cool background information on the significant and ancient role of vampires in human history, which in turn gives the story a lot of depth and a feel of being part of a grander story. And they pulled that off tremendously, it was a great finale.

But we come back and all that was for what, making a half a dozen mindless supersoldiers with the sole purpose of destroying the Sanctuary? That's a pretty damn big letdown, as far as I'm concerned. It's just not interesting. Why not use it to find a new way of destroying Abnormals, or creating vampiric creatures to hunt Abnormals, or create a whole new vampire to be pliable and use it to start taking over the world or something. That's just a bit of mindless brainstorming off the top of my head, but any of those would've been more entertaining.

The characters: I'll give props to Amanda Tapping. The woman is always a joy to watch, and the abduction of her character's daughter gives her a lot to work with.

Unfortunately, that seems to leave everyone else standing around trying to look important. Druitt did little more than provide a convenient means of teleporting people around the world, even though Ashley is his daughter too. Tesla's just chilling out drinking the wine cellar dry, Bigfoot's moping in his cell, Will's tending his e-relationship, and Henry....well, I have no idea what Henry's doing.

My point is, they give most of the cast nothing to do. And even Amanda Tapping, who has by far the best to work with, is also left a little in the lurch by a story that doesn't really go anywhere or do anything for 42 minutes.

Multi-shot: Now, that multi-camera-shot thing they had going on? I hope whoever thought that one up gets fired and blacklisted from ever working TV again. Seriously. Most annoying storytelling/shooting technique I've ever had the misfortune of suffering through. Completely setting aside the boring story for a moment, this 'technique' alone almost made me shut off the episode before I got to the end.




All put together, I thought it made for a pretty lousy episode. Like, 1 star out of 5 lousy and I'm only giving it that one because the "Martin Wood" thing managed to get a smile out of me. I'll keep watching, because I like the characters and the series mythology and want to know where they're going with it, but that certainly doesn't mean I have to like all the episodes

i guess the reason things just didn't magically pop out of the wood work was due to practicality. Its suppose to be somewhat realistic.
but you are right i do wish that there had been a bigger picture...but what could there have been? I think the idea is that Ashley will be the one to be her mothers downfall....as in Sanctuary..the entire premise of the show...its all so familial and chilling....demons come and go and villains will always be hell bent of destroying the good guy but what happens when your own child is hell bent of destroying you? thats what i like about it...I would have liked less will however...he seems, as tesla believes him to be, rather pointless....lets face it....what does will bring to the team? a helping hand? He really is useless......i dont get it...