A Little Song and Dance

Just a brief shout out for this particular episode of a TV series I never miss watching, week after week. The opening when unconscious Atwell is hallucinating being involved in a Hollywood musical was pure entertainment, with good choreography and everyone pitching in for the change of pace. The fact that they didn't have to sustain the homage for a full hour ("Bones" did a decent job of that last year in a well-photographed '50s Hitchcock tribute) was actually a plus in my book.

Give director Jennifer Gertzinger special mention for doing a good job despite no musical comedy credits on her resume; I remember her name from numerous top-notch episodes of "Mad Men".

Episode 9 is great!

From all the conflict of the past, her present has life conflicts that weigh heavy on her mind... as she spends her time fighting villains, her subconscious thoughts wrestle with the conflicts of her heart. The song and dance routine are PHENOMENAL! Hollywood could use a little more talent strengths of song and dance -- good strong shows that do not need raw sex nor crass jokes to be on TV. These shows are uplifting, the conflict of good and evil -- where evil is actually shown as evil and good is praised.

The Marvels series has consistently worked on the themes of good and evil, where evil loses, bad behavior is not condoned. It is one of the few shows we have that sets positive examples. Atwell and Gjokaj make a dynamic team -- both as villain chasers and as storyline partners in life. ABC, GREAT JOB.

I didn't think a musical episode would work in this show but I have to say it worked well, bringing back great characters like Angie and Dottie. However, it did seem kind of obvious that some of the singing voices weren't their actual voices such as Sousa. I also really liked the set piece for the entire musical though, how it molded from the SSR agency to the automat.

Major kudos also goes to Atwell and D'Arcy's performances in this episode, especially for their banter in the desert. I can understand Jarvis wanting revenge against Whitney but Carter is completely correct that the fact they are captured by them and stranded is also Jarvis' fault. These two have been the anchors for this show and it was great to see them call them out on each other's mishaps and flaws. It was even better for them to say what they are lucky to have for example, Jarvis has a wife and home that he can go to, but as Jarvis said they cannot have children. These two of such incredible chemistry and not romantic which I greatly enjoy.

I am very glad that Thompson is not with Vernon any more. He is a great, complex character that I really want to be a good guy. Vernon continues to annoy me cause he has no other use other than being a bad guy and a link to Thompson and Whitney. Thankfully, I think he might be gone after Wilkes blew. Wilkes might be gone but I like how kind of redeemed himself and saved Carter from the explosion. Again, Samberly was a nuisance, a kind of funny, but true nuisance especially with Rose.

Also, thank the gods that Ken Marino joined the show. He is such a joy. Whitney continues to be a strong, scary villain. I can't wait for the finale to see how they can stop her, if Wilkes hasn't killed her already.

+ Atwell and D'Arcy + Thompson's allegiance + Musical number + Manfredi and Whitney - Vernon - Just stop it with the Rose/Samberly "romance

Final Score: 8.3/10

An entertaining episode with the usual class, an unusual but well-done opening and then increasing comics thrills heading toward a dramatic end. Well-acted, well-set and suspenseful if you accept the SciFi vibe of the second season.

Well, that was quite the episode. We started out in black and white and a song and dance number that had nearly the entire cast involved and we finished with a few double crosses and one big zero matter explosion (or at least that's what it appeared to look like). This season has been very good in some moments and a little uneven in others, so why not just throw in a song and dance for kicks? It was a little bit out of the ordinary for this show, especially considering the dark times these past few episodes have led them in, but it worked within the constraints of Peggy's brain.

It was nice seeing Angie and Dottie appear one more time, albeit brief, as it very well may be the last time we see either of them two in those particular roles. It was in fact just inside of Peggy's mind of course, which led to one of the shows more serious conversations between Peggy and Jarvis walking in the desert. Neither of them were entirely wrong or right with the points they were making about Peggy bringing danger to everyone and that Jarvis tends to not realize the danger that surrounds him most of the time. It once again seemed like they were pointing to Jarvis' death in the episode, but I'm glad they didn't go that direction.

Working alongside Jack came to the forefront this week as his morals clashed with the team's morals and thus having everyone arguing for most of the time. I liked seeing Chad Michael Murray play the conflicted side to Jack as every episode it seems I find myself rooting for him to do something good. I think we all expected him to double cross the team at some point. Whitney didn't have a whole lot to do besides torture Wilkes in an attempt to take his zero matter. Unfortunately the preview kind of spoiled how the explosion with Wilkes ends up, but it was still a pretty solid way to end the episode. And I think it puts to rest the fate of the great Vernon Masters as well.

+Everyone dealing with consequences of their own actions

+Peggy and Jarvis' argument

+Jack being conflicted

8.5/10