The Following: The last episode of the new “cult” classic showed the beginning stages of all the characters thus far finally clashing. With the knowledge that the FBI is closing in on his son’s location, Carroll uses his appeals attorney to send a message to two of his followers that will speed up his little game of cat and mouse with FBI agent Ryan Hardy. Meanwhile, Paul, Jacob, and Emma wake up in bed together after a threesome, and Joey makes several attempts to contact his mother and escape from Paul, whom he fears. As the FBI closes in on Joey’s location, Hardy must search with a young sheriff’s deputy for the three followers and the missing boy. The episode continued the hot streak for this amazing show, and each episode strengthens the shows resolve and strength that is sure to allow for an inevitable second season.
Cult: Building upon the success of Kevin Bacon’s The Following, the premiere of the CW’s new drama Cult was this past Tuesday. After his brother comes to him for help after he gets involved in the community of a hit television program called Cult, reporter Jess Sefton, (portrayed by The Vampire Diaries actor Matthew Davies), learns that his brother has gone missing, and there was blood found at his brother’s apartment. When he begins to look into the television show and its star Roger Reeves/Billy Grimm, (portrayed by Robert Knepper), Jeff meets one of the show’s researchers, Skye, who helps him piece together clues in the television show with evidence left behind by his brother. The hour premiere of the new CW drama was filled with shocking revelations about the fans of the show, and alluding to a deeper mystery that may or may not involve the show Cults lead actor Roger. Giving fans a unique look on the impact television can have on those who are easily influenced by pop culture, Cult builds upon the popular idea this year in television that explores what kind of people and behavior comes with the actions of a cult, and the new drama showed great strength and an awesome cast of characters in its premiere, and we here at On Request Magazine look forward to seeing how this show develops.
Arrow: The first episode that showcased the strength and quirky charm of new recruit Felicity, this weeks Arrow saw Oliver looking into a string of brutal robberies across Starling City by a criminal known as the Dodger, who’s calling card is to strap a bomb collar around helpless victims in order to get them to commit the crimes. If they do as told, they live, but otherwise, he kills them and moves on. While investigating the crimes, Oliver goes on a date with Detective McKenna Hall, who helped Oliver on his sister Thea’s drug case. Meanwhile, a purse snatcher steals from Thea and Laurel, and is found out to be none other than Roy Harper, (played by Teen Wolf star Colton Haynes), who fans of comics will recognize as Arrow’s sidekick Speedy. As Arrow looks into the robberies, Felicity finds herself falling victim to the Dodger, and Oliver must stop the madman before his new recruit is killed. This episode showcased the amazing character development of both new characters and old, watching as we were introduced to some and got a deeper, more emotional look into other characters.
The Vampire Diaries: By far the most emotional episode of the series thus far, the episode ‘Stand by Me’ gave fans a look into Nina Dobrev’s strongest performance yet as main character Elena Gilbert. Facing a wealth of denial that her brother Jeremy was just murdered by immortal Silas, who now roams free in the world, Elena takes her brother’s body back home, and has Stefan and Caroline stand guard while Damon searches for the missing Bonnie. The reaction by each cast member to the death of Jeremy was enough to tug on the heartstrings of any fan, but the heart-wrenching moment of the episode came when Elena finally began to understand just how far gone Jeremy was, and the only option of bringing him back from the dead would cause the deaths of thousands of innocents. As a new vampire, the emotional toll of losing the last family member she had left took on more pain and sorrow than any human or vampire mind could handle, and her tears in the show’s final moments were like nails being hit into young Jeremy Gilbert’s coffin. This was by far the best episode of the series, and a special shout out to star Nina Dobrev’s amazing performance.
Nikita: The hit spy drama returned this week, and gave a stellar performance as usual, showcasing the seniority of the show. When an exposure scenario arises, Nikita and the gang have to find a way to stop Division from being exposed. When a critical advocate for their cause is caught in the cross hairs however, team member Sean Pierce is framed for the crime, and Nikita and the group must figure out a way to stop those responsible for the crime and save Sean before he becomes another casualty of their fight. The performance of the episode goes to both Lyndsy Fonseca’s Alex and Dillon Casey’s Sean, who’s character developments were amazing and strong in this episode, making us feel every cringe-worthy and suspenseful moment of the episode.
Shameless: This was one of the more emotional and hilarious episodes of the US series thus far. After all the kids save for Fiona are taken by Child Protective Services, we get a glimpse into the very different living situations each child is put in, while Fiona must find Frank and get him to sober up in time to get custody of the kids. Meanwhile, Veronica and Kevin continue on their unorthodox mission to conceive a child by impregnating her mother with his child, that way the child would have both their genetics. The outrageous of that situation coupled with the strong emotional performances by Emmy Rossum’s Fiona and Emma Kenney’s Debbie made this a must see episode of the season.
