Beauty and the Beast - Recap: A Tale of Two Beasts
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Recap and review of Beauty and the Beast - Season 1 Episode 20 - Anniversary:
When Beauty and the Beast first premiered, I was one of the show's most vocal detractors, and my negative opinion lasted for at least the first eight episodes. My issues mostly stemmed from the procedural "case of the week" aspect, as well as the fact that, in its early episodes, the show didn't seem to have a clear grasp on the "big picture" story it wanted to tell. Yet a little less than halfway through the season, everything changed. The procedural aspect was dropped. The romance was played up a bit more. There was a greater emphasis on the show's mythology. And, as an added bonus, the characters had really grown into their roles, particularly Nina Lisandrello, who's been kind of a joy to watch as of late. My opinion turned around considerably, to where I found myself looking forward to Thursdays. This flowered into a minor obsession with the show, as it reminds me of the old WB shows I used to love as a teenager, like Roswell, for instance (I lived and died by that show, I swear). There was an equal balance there between mythology and character building that frequently made it compelling television, and that's always been a storytelling model I've appreciated.
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This opening of mine is just a really long-winded way of saying that Beauty and the Beast has become one of the more fun shows on television, and episodes like "Anniversary" are why. It's an episode that adopts many of the traits of a procedural series, but with a serialized influence to the storytelling that makes it infinitely more interesting. Here, "Anniversary" utilizes a "case of the week" to help us learn more about Gabe (Sendhil Ramamurthy) and his relation to Cat's late mother. However, while the episode is ostensibly about Gabe, at the thematic level it's more about closure. Granted, some would argue that this has always been a series about closure. Cat (Kristin Kreuk) was compelled to pursue a career in law enforcement based entirely on the lack of closure she felt from her mother's murder, while Vincent (Jay Ryan) is continuing to try and close the dark chapter in his life that's represented by the threat of Muirfield. These elements are brought back to the fore in "Anniversary", though there is a secondary theme to this narrative: asking questions vs. leaving well enough alone. As the story unfolds, the characters are left to question how far they're willing to go for closure, and if they even want to know the answers to the questions they're asking. It's an undoubtedly interesting route for the story to take, all the more so for how it results in a twist that had me positively giddy (for one, because it confirmed my theory about Gabe, and secondly, because it's about to get real).
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So it's the anniversary of the tragic night that Cat's mother was murdered, but she and Vincent are spinning the occasion into an anniversary of their own, as it was the night they first saw one another. When the couple goes to the cemetery to place flowers on the grave of Cat's mother, they spy Gabe paying his respects. Vincent hangs back and listens in while Cat and Gabe have a conversation. He reveals to Cat that her mother was the doctor who protected him and smuggled him out of Muirfield, and that he adored her for being the only adult he trusted or loved. It's a sweet moment that humanizes Gabe in a more direct fashion while also further addressing the potential threat to Cat and Vincent's relationship that he presents, as Vincent loses control while listening in and has to hightail it out of there. Vincent later explains that this is due to a certain sixth sense he has about Gabe, believing that the ADA isn't what he appears. Vincent has no evidence at the time, but he later gets plenty, in the form of an argument between Gabe and the Mayor's assistant. It takes place at an outdoor speaking event where the Mayor is set to appear, and though Vincent tries to keep a low profile, things pick up in a hurry as a shot rings out and the Mayor falls to the ground. The panicked crowd scatters while Gabe tends to the wounded Mayor, whom he was standing next to, while Vincent goes after the sniper. Though the suspect is able to escape, Vincent manages to obtain the sniper's phone -- he dials the last number the shooter called. And Gabe answers.
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The episode goes out of its way to split the conflict right down the middle. Vincent is over-the-top in his persistence about Gabe, believing that he's dangerous to Cat, and that he shouldn't be trusted. But his hostility towards Gabe makes him come across as a possessive, paranoid madman who puts the "lousy" in jealousy, going so far as to forbid Cat from seeing him. Cat tells him that he has no right to forbid her from seeing anybody, especially when he's been lying to her this whole time. As it turns out, the body of Cat's mother, Vanessa, isn't in the plot below her headstone, she was dug up and moved under the pretense of a gas leak -- a fact that Vincent knew about six months ago. Cat storms off in a huff, and Vincent destroys his anniversary present for Cat, a celestial candle, in a fit of pique. Yet, in many ways, Vincent is right to be suspicious. He has JT (Austin Basis) hack into Gabe's financial records, revealing that Gabe made a $25,000 deposit into an unmarked bank account -- presumably to hire a hitman. The possibility of Gabe's involvement in the assassination attempt is further bolstered by the revelation that his argument with the Mayor's assistant was over the politician's refusal to endorse him as a future candidate. Cat goes to Gabe for the truth, and he lays it all out on the line for her: the $25,000 was not for a hitman, but for a private investigator, to dig into the mystery behind the crack on Vanessa's headstone. The private detective was able to prove that she was moved, but not that she was ever actually in the ground to begin with, as there appears to be no record of an autopsy report. Cat comes to realize Gabe's inference: her mother might still be alive, having faked her death to protect her family from Muirfield.
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While it's a hopeful plot twist, it isn't really treated with the weight of a storyline we're meant to believe. Though we might share Cat's hope that the rumor is true, the idea that Vanessa Chandler is still alive is meant to give Cat a fool's hope that catalyzes her actions for the rest of the episode, as she works with Gabe to try and solve the mystery. Their investigation takes them to an abandoned farmhouse up in the boondocks, where they intend to speak with whomever was responsible for the transportation of Vanessa's body. However, just as they arrive, Tess (Nina Lisandrello) discovers information from the sniper's flash drive. He isn't a hitman working with Gabe -- he's a hitman working with the mob. It turns out that Gabe was the target the whole time, not the Mayor. The sniper simply missed his shot and hit the Mayor by mistake. The mob is apparently seeking retaliation for a RICO case Gabe built against the organized crime outfit. Tess phones Vincent to let him know, since Cat is now invariably in danger, if she's with Gabe (which, of course, she is). Gabe and Cat come under fire from the sniper, resulting in a tense, though all-too-brief cat-and-mouse sequence in which Cat trades fire with the would-be killer. Vincent comes bounding in to save the day, in full-on Beast form, which means his attack on the killer leaves claw marks on the barn posts, in addition to the evidence remaining when Vincent forcefully knocks the sniper down through the floor of the barn. It's a sequence that would have been better if it had a few more minutes to build suspense, as it was a really jarring, incredibly brief resolution to the sniper plot. However, I can kind of forgive it, if only because it's not really all that important, in the grand scheme of things. At least not when set against the "big picture" of the episode.
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Cat and Vincent make amends and, on their way out of the barn, spy a headstone under the snow marked "Vanessa" (along with the design of Vanessa's favorite flower, the callalily). Cat breaks down upon the realization that her mother is truly dead, but Gabe is there to help Cat through the feeling of disconnection she felt with her mother. Earlier, while at an annual celebration with her family in which they remember Vanessa with pizza and 80s power ballads (just roll with it), Cat flips out on her father for withholding information of her mother's exhumation. While the outburst, in many ways, was the result of Cat's hope that her mother was still alive, it was more of a reaction to the realization that she doesn't know her mother as well as she thought she did. However, Gabe poignantly tells Cat how much her mother loved her, and how often she used to talk about her to him. Gabe knows all about her recitals in second grade and her hatred of violin practice, among other things. It's one of the lovelier moments of the episode, with Kristin Kreuk restraining tears as she realizes that her mother wasn't nearly as alien to her as she'd feared.
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Cat reiterates this to Vincent later, during their rooftop anniversary underneath the canopy of stars Vincent made for her. Cat pretty much states that while she's always going to be curious about her mother, she's found the closure she needs to where she doesn't feel the need to keep prodding into the past. Vincent apologizes for his errors, as his instincts are always going to be to protect Cat, and that the truth isn't something he should be hiding from her (especially, one would presume, when it involves the remains of your long-deceased mother). The couple makes up, and all is gravy, except...it turns out Vincent was right about Gabe. He isn't what he seems at all. We learn this in the final twist of the episode, as Gabe surveys the damage left behind in the barn following the attack on the sniper. He notices claw marks and realizes that he's finally closing in on "The Vigilante". He phones Tyler and says that while they're close, they have to hurry before it's too late. Gabe's hand shakes and his eyes turn feral and yellow, revealing that he, too, has cross-species DNA like Vincent. It's a killer twist to go out on, and I'd say they brought it out at just the right moment, as we near the season finale.
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The episode also features a brief subplot involving Joe (Brian T. White), who offers Tess a transfer to the 15th Precinct so they can take their relationship public. Tess ultimately refuses, rightly declaring that she worked hard to earn the respect of her peers in this precinct. So Joe finds a solution to their little problem, by transferring the one person in the office who knows about them, a wise-ass detective named Morelli. However, Tess stresses that they have to be more cautious in the future, as Joe can't just transfer everyone that finds out about them. It's an okay story, I suppose, but I still struggle to care all that much about this romance, particularly because it comes across as selfish on Joe's end. Maybe that's simply a byproduct of a phallocentric society, or maybe it's because Joe is her boss, so he naturally would have the power in the relationship anyway. Maybe it's because I'm a straight guy raised by women, but I never understood the rationale behind forcing the woman to make all the sacrifices. And I say this as someone who really isn't that good at the whole being a boyfriend thing. It just seems like a lousy thing for Joe to do, to ask Tess to uproot her career and start all over again somewhere new, instead of just being a little more careful so they don't get found out. Doesn't seem that hard, really, though Joe nearly blows it again by trying to kiss her in his office while the blinds are open. Moron.
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That said, "Anniversary" is a damn fine episode of a show that's increasingly twisty and fun by the week. With the finale rapidly approaching, you can see how the series is wrapping its storylines in anticipation for season two, and I'll be interested to see how the Gabe arc comes to a conclusion, especially since a Beast war with Vincent is clearly in the offing. Should be fun.
