Season One - Discussion

[Tony O'Black]

Feb 13, 2013 15:38:44 GMT -6 Darrin McCann said:

Well, I'm glad you didn't completely hate it, that there were a few things I did correct in your opinion. I can't make any excuses except that I am a new writer. I don't claim to be anything but, so I can understand that I need practice and possibly guidance.

Mate I am no expert, I'm just going by what I know, have read & written. The more you write, the better you absolutely will get, I 100% guarantee - long as you remain as good at taking constructive criticism.

As for: " badly needs a proof reader to properly pick this stuff out as at times it was just embarrassing." I don't know, I just think that maybe there was a more tactful approach to getting your message across.

Maybe, and I meant no offence, but a professional reader would probably make my bluntness look like a warm, fluffy greetings card.

The more honest someone is, I believe, the tougher you'll become.

I know I need improvement in my dialogue, for sure. I'm not a subtext sort of person, I usually say what I mean and mean what I say, so I'll try and work on that with my characters in the future. Same goes for building stronger personalities for the characters so they sound differently and are not so wooden.

What you need to remember is that you're not writing Darrin, and that's something it's hard sometimes to disassociate from.

All great drama is never about what people say, it's what they don't. Or it's the choices they make, their actions. And remember, Darrin may say what he means (though I doubt you always do, because nobody ever does constantly), but your drama & characters will pop if you let your reader surmise things, read between the lines, as opposed to your characters voicing everything. That's dramatic death.

I've actually noticed an improvement in my writing too, in comparison to The Boogeyman, so thank you for noticing. I tried to take some of the notes given from you and Vaughn from the Boogeyman and use them. Clearly I have a ways to go.

You're getting there. We all are. I'm just trying to make you notice things that'll help.

Thanks again for reading and reviewing, Tony. I really do appreciate it.

A pleasure, my friend. More shall come soon.

[MJ]

Review of 1x04 A Tale of Two Brothers

So before I even read this episode I was rather intrigued by the title. I don't know why exactly, probably because it lends itself to hinting about the storyline what with us not having seen Will and Gwen's brother up until now, and then the whole Romulus/Remus thing (I think I'm recalling names correctly and the face they were brothers? I hope so XD). Anyway, yeah, the title had me rather intrigued, lol!

First up, we find out it wasn't actually Sara and Milo's mother but their mothers twin. I totally forgot that was how the last episode left off so getting chucked right back into the middle of that was fun. I don't know if I'm glad or disappointed it wasn't actually their mother though, haha!

Also, Vampires? Did you mention before there were going to be vampires? Because that really surprised me XD And we're introduced to Gabriel, the missing Adler. I really liked Gabriel and the kinda bad-boy, not a care in the world vibe he had going on. Like when he offers the cereal to Jeremy? That got a snort of laughter out of me. Though, of course, no one is as they seem in this show and that scene at the end had me so surprised. Mind you, I probably should have expected it because, like I said, no one is as they seem

Now, am I right in saying everyone knows about the werewolves and other associated supernaturals now? Gosh, so much for staying under the radar, haha! Oh, and Abigail actually being HBIC? Colour me impressed. My gosh, there are twists and turns everywhere in this show.

Yeah, a lot of stuff happened in this and I can't even remember all of it so I'm just gonna do some general notes now.

Firstly SPAG issues. I know, I know, I probably sound like a broken record but they keep popping up, some of them really obvious or silly mistakes too, so keep working on cutting them down. I don't know if you have an editor but they help SO much to catch all the things you miss on your own read throughs (I know getting my sister to read through my stuff before I post it was one of the best decisions I made). Oh, one spelling thing in particular which is a pet peeve of mine was the use of 'shutter' instead of 'shudder'. So yeah, just for future reference XD

The story line was pretty good, though I felt like it fell down a bit with the huge fight as the 'blood bank'. It just seemed a little... all over the place, and I wasn't quite sure why Elizabella was there with all her cronies, only be kicked out like they were never wanted in the first place? I don;t know, maybe I missed some important details but for me that part of the script just didn't flow the best. The rest of it was fine though, it was just that section that had me scratching my head a bit

So, to sum up, I enjoyed this episode but maybe not quite as much as the last two. I did enjoy getting a lot of questions answered, or at lease partially answer in this ep, but as usual you've brought in a whole lot more that I now have to puzzle over, lol! But yeah, solid episode and hopefully I'll get around to reading an reviewing the next one in a timely manner

[Tony O'Black]

'Blood Ties' - BLACK HOLE REVIEWED

[Deleted]

Thank you for reading and reviewing, MJ!! I really appreciate it.

Review of 1x04 A Tale of Two Brothers

So before I even read this episode I was rather intrigued by the title. I don't know why exactly, probably because it lends itself to hinting about the storyline what with us not having seen Will and Gwen's brother up until now, and then the whole Romulus/Remus thing (I think I'm recalling names correctly and the face they were brothers? I hope so XD). Anyway, yeah, the title had me rather intrigued, lol!

Yes, you are correct! Romulus and Remus were brothers and the original werewolves. They are very much like Will and Gabriel when it comes to responsibility and how they look at human life.

First up, we find out it wasn't actually Sara and Milo's mother but their mothers twin. I totally forgot that was how the last episode left off so getting chucked right back into the middle of that was fun. I don't know if I'm glad or disappointed it wasn't actually their mother though, haha!

It's a good thing... sort of. Lol. Vivien has a lot of baggage and she knows a lot more about what's going on than any of the characters. She has an agenda like most characters, however you don't have to wait long to find out what that is. She gives a glimpse of what she's up to next episode.

Also, Vampires? Did you mention before there were going to be vampires? Because that really surprised me XD And we're introduced to Gabriel, the missing Adler. I really liked Gabriel and the kinda bad-boy, not a care in the world vibe he had going on. Like when he offers the cereal to Jeremy? That got a snort of laughter out of me. Though, of course, no one is as they seem in this show and that scene at the end had me so surprised. Mind you, I probably should have expected it because, like I said, no one is as they seem

Yes, there's vampires. They take more of a backseat role because this show is primarily about werewolves, however, there's a slue of monsters and other supernatural creatures lurking around every corner.

Gabriel is a fun character to write because he's a lot like Gwen... sassy. He's also the leader of the Rebels which we find out at the end of this episode. Why would Gabriel believe that he's not Gwen and Will's brother but actually a descendant of Romulus? Clearly the Adlers' dead mom has some explaining to do. Lol.

Now, am I right in saying everyone knows about the werewolves and other associated supernaturals now? Gosh, so much for staying under the radar, haha! Oh, and Abigail actually being HBIC? Colour me impressed. My gosh, there are twists and turns everywhere in this show.

Yeah, pretty much our entire cast knows about the supernatural. Not the entire world though, but a few key players. Lol.

Abigail's double life was hinted at the end of 1.02 Blood Ties when she gave Sara back her bag, that was taken by the faux F.B.I. earlier in the episode. And I know what you're gonna say "But Darrin she called the Rebels' leader after". It's true she did and we find out why a monster hunter is doing business with a monster in the next episode. She, like Wayne, are not keeping secrets because they want to, it's because that's the only way they can keep their family's safe. Abigail is wedge between a rock and a hard place, I mean, her friendship with Sara is real but her loyalty to this monster task force kind of makes her do things she doesn't want to do. In 1.03 when she cut herself, on purpose I might add, she was testing Will. Seeing if he truly was what everyone said he was... more human than beast. She needs to know if she's making the right decision all round because right now she's hanging out on a limb.

Yeah, a lot of stuff happened in this and I can't even remember all of it so I'm just gonna do some general notes now.

Firstly SPAG issues. I know, I know, I probably sound like a broken record but they keep popping up, some of them really obvious or silly mistakes too, so keep working on cutting them down. I don't know if you have an editor but they help SO much to catch all the things you miss on your own read throughs (I know getting my sister to read through my stuff before I post it was one of the best decisions I made). Oh, one spelling thing in particular which is a pet peeve of mine was the use of 'shutter' instead of 'shudder'. So yeah, just for future reference XD

Yes. I will make it official... I suck at grammar, and clearly editing. Lmfao! I do have an editor who, as of late, has been M.I.A. It was this episode that I started editing myself. Maybe I should post a job opening. Lol.

The story line was pretty good, though I felt like it fell down a bit with the huge fight as the 'blood bank'. It just seemed a little... all over the place, and I wasn't quite sure why Elizabella was there with all her cronies, only be kicked out like they were never wanted in the first place? I don;t know, maybe I missed some important details but for me that part of the script just didn't flow the best. The rest of it was fine though, it was just that section that had me scratching my head a bit

Elizabella and her goons were there for several reasons. 1) Gabriel Adler doesn't want his family to know he's King of the Rebels, with good reason I suppose. What better way to throw them off his scent by making it look like they're after him as well. 2) Gabriel is not stupid. He knows that vampires are dangerous and that Embryce hates werewolves. If his deal with her, which did go according to plan, happened to go south then he had the backup needed to get out alive. The Rebels are an interesting group of people because they're willing to die for the cause, especially Elizabella, who is not only blinded by her love for Gabriel but also what her parents died for... the cause. The whole set up was to lure out Embryce's ring.

A little SPOILER here: Embryce knew her ring was in Crescent Bay and she told Gabriel before he was thrown out of the red curtain in the TEASER. We find out how she knew at the end of next episode. We also find out how Gabriel Adler may have found out about the ring. Getting Will and Gwen to leave Crescent Bay was so that he could look for the ring without distraction and without arousing suspicion.

I'm sorry that I didn't make this more obvious with the end scene. Sometimes I forget that I know more than the reader. Lmfao!

So, to sum up, I enjoyed this episode but maybe not quite as much as the last two. I did enjoy getting a lot of questions answered, or at lease partially answer in this ep, but as usual you've brought in a whole lot more that I now have to puzzle over, lol! But yeah, solid episode and hopefully I'll get around to reading an reviewing the next one in a timely manner

Thanks, MJ! I'm glad you enjoyed it. This episode had a lot of mythology given which plays a role in the episodes to come. I really appreciate the reading and reviewing!!

[Deleted]

Thanks, Tony, for reading and reviewing!!

The difficult second episode. I could write an essay on it by now, being one of the toughest beasts a series can face, perhaps even tougher than the pilot. I’m pleased to report that Bitten gets the mixture right, in fact I enjoyed ‘Blood Ties’ far more than the stilted, formulaic pilot in which Darrin McCann seemed to struggle with introducing everyone and delivering an interesting narrative at the same time. Here, without the burden of introductions, he can tell a very solid story that continues numerous threads from the pilot as well as introducing several brand new strands that serve to deepen more than one narrative and character area. So while still far from perfect, McCann definitely takes the whole thing up a noch for his second outing.

I'll take it. Lmfao!! I actually found the second episode easier to write than the pilot because I wasn't trying to cram introductions and plot into one episode. Lol. From how I ended the Pilot I had a clear vision of where the story was heading in the second episode. I'm really happy to hear that this episode was better than the pilot for you.

NARRATIVE:

What I enjoyed, from a plot perspective, was how he naturally built in the lead up to the soldiers storming the hospital under Wayne’s charge, and indeed the consequences of Albert being bitten. Now I confess I groaned a tad when Albert was found alive at the start, fearing it might undercut Elizabetta’s actions, however it serves McCann much better – allowing him a natural way to amp up the stakes at the hospital and further draw Sara & Jeremy closer to Will & Gwen without it being too forced, not to mention retain that personal element with Albert that drives the script. To me, that’s good plotting, McCann understanding well how to connect up his character work and his storytelling, and it was nice to see after that didn’t quite happen in the pilot.

Thanks, Tony, that means a lot to me. Albert was always going to be turned. In my first draft I had him depicted as an Alzheimer patient who got bit by Elizabella. The curse heals the human imperfection and all is right with the world, but that to me was far too boring. Lol. So, when I decided to sit down and pen a stronger mythology for Bitten I decided his survival and eventual death was a necessary evil. It could serve purpose. I'm glad it worked out pretty well.

Equally, he connects a few important dots here, sooner in fact than I expected him to; my fear being we might spend half a season in sub-Twilight territory as the couples moon around each other before anything actually happens, but not so here as McCann wastes no time introducing the threat of the monster-hunting soldiers, the threat of the werewolf virus (even some mythology, a nice touch utilising the Romulus/Remus story as a touchstone), and indeed exploring what’s happening with Milo.

Ugh, I hate Twilight. Lol. I like to introduce the episode threat early on because I hate shows that wait half an episode before actually getting to anything interesting. One thing I fear is that I'm throwing too much at the reader in terms of history and mythology. The reason I'm doing it is because I'm giving hints as to where this season is heading and what secrets these characters have. So sometimes I fear I'm going too fast.

I love the birth of Rome mythology surrounding Romulus and Remus. In fact I draw a lot of ideas for this show from Roman and Greek mythology which probably sounds strange considering this is a supernatural drama about werewolves, but it's true. Lol.

That sub plot to me was the weaker link – I like how Milo is being taken on his own journey, as it broke up the other storyline well here, but a few things jarred: the reveal it was Louise who spoke to him in 101 was awfully staged, McCann’s direction telling us when it should have been made very plain through Milo discovering it, not working it out; you can do that in prose, the thought process, but not in script and it felt very wedged in. All the Summerhill stuff was strange too, him forcing Milo into regression then making him forget just seemed like one secret bad guy too many – it feels right now that everyone not in the Sara group have some kind of agenda, and that’s in danger of getting old very quickly.

Yeah, Milo's definitely on his own journey at the moment. I can see why Louise's death scene seemed wedged but I was trying to make it a multi-purpose tool. I wanted the reader to know that Louise knew about Milo, that she was in on it. I wanted Milo to realize that it was her voice he heard, and I wanted to setup a darker storyline further down the road.

Dr. Summerhaul, I will admit, was a last minute addition to the Bitten mythology. He's not around long enough to become anything of great importance, villain-wise, because after I wrote the episode and reread it I noticed how over the top he was. Lol. But nevertheless he is connected to Milo's journey, past, present and future.

Each episode people's secrets begin to spill, so hidden agendas don't stay hidden for too long.

CHARACTERS:

SARA – she came off better here, as with most of the characters you can feel McCann is still figuring out how to play her, as right now she’s purely being defined really by her relationship with Will & involvement in the wolf affairs. A hint of personality shows up when she points out she’s excited by this, not afraid, but we’ve still some way to go before she becomes an interesting lead – there’s time, however.

I'm glad that Sara's personality came out better in this episode. She's playing a dangerous game by being associated with this 'supernatural' world. I will admit that out of all the characters she is the hardest to write for because she has so many layers and angles to play from. Truly. I think the more I write her the easier it gets and hopefully that shows, and her personality comes out more.

WILL – there’s a reluctance about him I’m starting to appreciate, if its intentional by McCann, because that will make him into a more interesting male lead. Will obviously doesn’t want to get involved, keep his head down, but police intervention etc… is drawing him in, as is Sara, and I liked picking up on that will Will here. I found him much less ‘Cullen’ across this, again with promise of becoming a far more interesting protagonist the more McCann writes him.

Will just wants to be normal. Live a human life. He hasn't always been this way, we get hints of that in 1.05 when we meet an Ex from his past, but Will's not the man he used to be. He's seen first hand the monster that lies within all werewolves, and he wants no part of it. But like you said different situations and people keep pulling him back into this world.

JEREMY – he’s played a bit more straight throughout this one, which one can understand given the plot revolves around his family, but I hope that edge of comedy isn’t lost forever after being a bright spot in the pilot. I’m not sure there was quite enough of a punch from Albert’s death, mainly because that relationship with Jeremy hasn’t been well established, but his antagonism with Wayne was well communicated, even if its well worn dramatic territory.

Jeremy has some comedic moments for sure. Episode 1.03 not so much because he's still dealing with the events of this episode but 1.04 has a few places. I like to think of Jeremy as this guy who takes himself far too seriously, but there are these moments where he forgets his worries and becomes carefree. That's when we see his comedic side.

Yeah, I can agree with that. His death is more felt, in my opinion, in the next episode. Jeremy has a few memory flashbacks of Albert so you get that connection they had.

SPOILER: Jeremy and Wayne's aggressiveness sprouts from an event that's one sided. Clearly, Jeremy was beaten by Wayne and was taken away by protective services, but that's how Jeremy sees and remembers it. He was a young kid. Hell, I can barely remember my childhood. So, there is a twist on the overly done 'Father beating Son' stale scenario. Everything Wayne does is to protect Jeremy. I tried showing some of that in this episode. He loves his son.

GWEN – she’s a touch more in the background here but I still am finding her the most dynamic and enjoyable character on the board. McCann nicely puts her in opposition to Will, she showing much more dynamism in actually trying to go out there and find out who wants them dead, and one senses this might cause stronger conflict between the siblings in the future.

Gwen is a woman of action, she has no problem kicking ass. I enjoy writing scenes involving her and Will because I think that's where she shines the most. Her butting heads with Will will never stop. They're siblings, enough said. Lol.

MILO – his story was entirely separate and, to some extent, a mixed bag in terms of effectiveness. Given we don’t really know quite what is happening to him, it’s harder to connect when he starts having visions and shooting fire from his hands, plus as stated a few moments with Milo were among the more clunky here, nor again is he really all that interesting on his own merits yet. If he is being guided to kill the wolves however, that will lead to some neat tension that could help his characterisation.

*Taps nose* Everything that is happening to Milo is preparing him to what yet is to be seen. But he is being guided. He learns more about himself, and what he can do in the next few episodes. In 1.04 we actually find out what he is exactly.

TO CONCLUDE:

Yeah, I liked this one quite a bit, and it’s instilled some faith in me that Bitten really does have quite a lot of promise to bloom into a damn good show of its ilk. One thing is clear: Darrin McCann has thought through his characters and the world around them, and here a lot of it seemed on the page and pretty well communicated – plus he manages to balance his character work with a dynamic sense of narrative from beginning to end, with lots of plot lines already buzzing around, showing a confidence I didn’t expect. A few little wobbles on the presentation and plot choices aside, a perfectly good second episode for Bitten and hopefully a standard McCann can maintain and ideally better.

BLACK HOLE RATING:

★★★1/2

Thank you so much, Tony. I'm glad this episode was a lot better for you. I know I have a long ways to go in this writing world (for lack of a better term) but this gives me hope that I'm heading in the right direction. Thanks again for reading and reviewing, bud. I appreciate it!!!

[Brady Brown]

REVIEW: 1.03 "Once In A Blue Moon"

I'm enjoying Sara a lot better in this episode. Not to that I hated her, but she wasn't my favorite of the bunch, not even my least favorite. But she just seems more confident with her relationship with Will, which is also getting better and better as we venture down BITTEN season one. XD

The greatest element of this show, bar the mystery, is the characters. They're all clearly defined now, and most of them are very enjoyable, while some could use a tad bit more work: Ed (I know, I'm like a broken record her. XD)y. But my favorite is still Jeremy for some reason.

Another character I'm still on the fence about is Griffon. He just seems to show up at random points to stalk Milo, but, from the ending, it seems like he has other things planned, like EVERY character on this show. XD My guess is that he works with who Abigail works for. Just my speculation

Louise's dialogue could use some tightening up, in my opinion. Not necessarily bad, just a little forced at times. But you seem to improve with dialogue in each episode, so I'm sure that will definitely turn around with episodes to come.

Abigail is a very cunning little biy-atch, isn't she? XD She's becoming one of my favorites too, if not purely because I just want to know what the hell's her deal! haha That smirk she gave after she cut herself, I laughed. So sneaky. XD

OH MY GOD. GWEN GOT SHOT. This episode, I don't even know. XD It's crazy. All your episodes are crazy, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. XD Speaking of Gwen, her and Jeremy's relationship is my favorite of the series so far. But you told me something's going to happen to them on Twitter in a later episode... -cries-

And that was a cliffhanger ending. LIKE ALL OF THEM. XD I feel like I'm watching TVD, but with werewolves, which I mean in a very nice way. XD I hope this review doesn't sound like I didn't enjoythe episode, because I did. I just think some characters could use a little more tweaking. And I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens in future episodes!!

9/10

[Deleted]

Thanks for reading and reviewing, Brady!

REVIEW: 1.03 "Once In A Blue Moon"

I'm enjoying Sara a lot better in this episode. Not to that I hated her, but she wasn't my favorite of the bunch, not even my least favorite. But she just seems more confident with her relationship with Will, which is also getting better and better as we venture down BITTEN season one. XD

I'm happy that she's growing on you. Sara and Will's relationship is one I really enjoy writing because I don't believe it exists, and that's true love... fairytale, love at first sight, love. However I think if it did exist it would look a little like Will and Sara's relationship. They get each other on a whole other level. They don't necessarily understand each others worlds but they understand each other. That is not to say they won't have bumps in the road, but I think that at the end of the day they'll make it through. <-- As cheesy as that sounds. Lol.

The greatest element of this show, bar the mystery, is the characters. They're all clearly defined now, and most of them are very enjoyable, while some could use a tad bit more work: Ed (I know, I'm like a broken record her. XD)y. But my favorite is still Jeremy for some reason.

Thanks! HAHA! Ed will come around. Wait until next episode. I promise you, some of Ed's secrets spill out in a verbal diarrhea sort of way. I like Jeremy. He's almost a reflection of myself in a lot of ways, I mean I don't canoodle with werewolves or anything but I've been in his shoes countless times. Jeremy just keeps getting kicked while he's down but there's gonna come a time when he starts fighting back. He's gonna man-up in a big way Lol.

Another character I'm still on the fence about is Griffon. He just seems to show up at random points to stalk Milo, but, from the ending, it seems like he has other things planned, like EVERY character on this show. XD My guess is that he works with who Abigail works for. Just my speculation

I've never been so happy to hear the words "show up at random times to stalk Milo". This is exactly what I was going for. Who is this creep? What does he want with Milo? Who does he work for?

Louise's dialogue could use some tightening up, in my opinion. Not necessarily bad, just a little forced at times. But you seem to improve with dialogue in each episode, so I'm sure that will definitely turn around with episodes to come.

I'm not sure but I don't think Louise had dialogue in this episode. Could you be talking about another character? The more I write the easier it gets to hear these characters voices in my head... and that makes me sound a little crazy. Lol

Abigail is a very cunning little biy-atch, isn't she? XD She's becoming one of my favorites too, if not purely because I just want to know what the hell's her deal! haha That smirk she gave after she cut herself, I laughed. So sneaky. XD

Abigail is not bad per say. She's part of this monster squad who are trying to help humanity. Are they killing werewolves and other monsters, yes. But does that make her the villain? That's what I love about her character, and the Juggernauts in general (Name gets dropped next episode I believe Lol) that I can play them as good or bad. They're my wildcard. Lol.

OH MY GOD. GWEN GOT SHOT. This episode, I don't even know. XD It's crazy. All your episodes are crazy, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. XD Speaking of Gwen, her and Jeremy's relationship is my favorite of the series so far. But you told me something's going to happen to them on Twitter in a later episode... -cries-

HAHA! Thank you. Crazy is a compliment to me Lol. Gwen and Jeremy are a slow build. There's a lot of hit and misses before anything really solid comes from this relationship. They're my example of a realistic relationship. Lol. This episode I wanted to step away from werewolves and show that there is so much more out there that wants the Adlers dead. Lol. Everyday is a fight for survival. Everything that Gwen went through in this episode was some of the hardest things I have ever had to write. I love Gwen, she's my dream girl. Lol.

And that was a cliffhanger ending. LIKE ALL OF THEM. XD I feel like I'm watching TVD, but with werewolves, which I mean in a very nice way. XD I hope this review doesn't sound like I didn't enjoythe episode, because I did. I just think some characters could use a little more tweaking. And I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens in future episodes!!

9/10

I love cliffhangers! If I could get that on a t-shirt that would be great. I think that's what keeps me constantly watching TVD because almost every episode is a cliffhanger. I like cliffhangers because they setup the next episode quite nicely. You get a glimpse of what's to come.

Thanks again for reading and reviewing!!!

[Brady Brown]

I'm not sure but I don't think Louise had dialogue in this episode. Could you be talking about another character? The more I write the easier it gets to hear these characters voices in my head... and that makes me sound a little crazy. Lol

Woops. She must have been on my mind from last episode, haha! But yeah, that's what I was talking about. XD

[Alex Matthews]

Just had a minor "Bitten" marathon, read Eps 3 to 5 in short order...
HOE. LEE. COW!!

Werewolves, witches and vampires, oh my!

I have to say, I'm feeling sorry for Sara and Milo, they're not having an easy time of life at the moment, Milo had it on the money when he said that since the Adlers moved to town, it's brought nothing but trouble. They're both in the center of something mysterious and large, and they're only now beginning to realise, but's it cost them dearly. How many people are lying to them 'for their own good', will they really be able to believe ANYONE once all the lies are exposed?

I'm going to bullet point my favourite moments to keep it simple otherwise I will ramble for AGES:

- SHOCKED at the two sudden deaths of both Wayne and Ed, ESPECIALLY Ed, that totally came out of the left field!

- LOVED the Griffon/Milo scenes, I just had a feeling it was building up to the kiss, although at the same time, it felt a little bit rushed that Griffon fell deeply enough to risk everything after 4 episodes.

- Gabriel Adler = WORLD CLASS JERK!! Wonder what his true end game will bring..?

- Jeremy/Gwen = SO CUTE! If Jeremy does go down that path, what will it mean for them?

Darrin, if this is what you are writing for regular episodes, I CAN'T WAIT to see what you have planned for a mid-season finale! Please take this as the compliment it is intended as but seriously, "Bitten" to me is the VPN's equivilant of "Vampire Diaries"! Keep it coming!

[Deleted]

First off, thank you so much for reading and reviewing, Alex!!!

Just had a minor "Bitten" marathon, read Eps 3 to 5 in short order...
HOE. LEE. COW!!

Werewolves, witches and vampires, oh my!

I have to say, I'm feeling sorry for Sara and Milo, they're not having an easy time of life at the moment, Milo had it on the money when he said that since the Adlers moved to town, it's brought nothing but trouble. They're both in the center of something mysterious and large, and they're only now beginning to realise, but's it cost them dearly. How many people are lying to them 'for their own good', will they really be able to believe ANYONE once all the lies are exposed?

HAHA! That is a marathon. Holy cow to you, wow! Lol.

It's true Milo and Sara have been through a LOT and that was even before the Adlers came to town. They lost their mother, now their father. As well as friends are becoming enemies. They're pretty much in danger 24/7, and this is only the beginning. The line between the truth and the lies will start to blur and you're right no one will know who to trust.

I'm going to bullet point my favourite moments to keep it simple otherwise I will ramble for AGES:

Okay, shoot. *Pun intended* Lol.

- SHOCKED at the two sudden deaths of both Wayne and Ed, ESPECIALLY Ed, that totally came out of the left field!

Ed's death is going to create a ripple throughout the rest of the season. It's going to impact not only his children but everyone around them because Ed was truly the "gate" shielding his children from this dark universe and now that he's gone things are about to get a whole lot real. Wayne's death doesn't truly hit Jeremy until 1.06 when he finds out the truth about his father and the dealings with the Juggernauts. He's also going to discover the events at the hospital and how Gwen knew about his father. Tension will arise.

- LOVED the Griffon/Milo scenes, I just had a feeling it was building up to the kiss, although at the same time, it felt a little bit rushed that Griffon fell deeply enough to risk everything after 4 episodes.

Yeah, I can see how that kiss was rushed, but at the same time this was a man who knew he'd be dead soon. What did he have to lose? But don't expect these two to be jumping into bed together just yet. There's going to be a lot of near misses before anything remotely close to happily ever after occurs... if it occurs. Lol.

- Gabriel Adler = WORLD CLASS JERK!! Wonder what his true end game will bring..?

HAHA! Gabriel is manipulative, cunning, and a world class jerk. Lol. He pops up from time to time, and expect his endgame to come into play in episode 1.09. If you think he's a bad guy you ain't seen nothing yet. Lol. In 1.09 King Pius Adler comes to Crescent Bay and trust me when I say you'll see that old Gabriel doesn't fall too far from the tree.

- Jeremy/Gwen = SO CUTE! If Jeremy does go down that path, what will it mean for them?

Gweremy is my favorite couple, however I don't like the characters happy for too long so expect lots of speed bumps along the way. Lol. And regarding Jeremy, lets say he has options. I think the main thing to remember about Jeremy is he's tired of being the victim. He's got no control over what happens in his life at the moment and he's done with that. He wants to be a stronger person and fight back by any means necessary.

Darrin, if this is what you are writing for regular episodes, I CAN'T WAIT to see what you have planned for a mid-season finale! Please take this as the compliment it is intended as but seriously, "Bitten" to me is the VPN's equivilant of "Vampire Diaries"! Keep it coming!

Wow, thank you so much, Alex!! I'm really glad your enjoying the story so far, and being compared to TVD is a huge compliment. Thanks again for reading and reviewing!!

[Tony O'Black]

'Once in a Blue Moon' - BLACK HOLE REVIEWED

[Deleted]

Thanks again, Tony, for reading and reviewing!!

Quite a lot of people these days can’t stand an in media res opening, as in beginning with a cliffhanging scene from later in the story then snapping back several hours, which is how Bitten‘s third episode kicks off. I myself have used it plenty of times and, in used well, I’m still a fan of the device, even if I understand the negatives. Darrin McCann uses it perfectly well in ‘Once in a Blue Moon’, a tale not quite as pulse pounding or effective as the last but still maintaining a sense of narrative momentum and character development wrapped up into one package, while still finding its feet and figuring itself out as a show. I quite like McCann’s writing; he has an improving flow about how he crafts his structure, only let down primarily by a repeating grammatical error and some iffy presentation in places.

Yeah, episode 1.03 was one of the hardest episodes, so far, that I had to write because I knew not a lot of action would be had. I needed to do a few things which would bring this group closer together. Even Milo, who's out in his own little world, is gravitating towards the other's storylines with each passing episode. So really this episode was meant to be a character building episode, which I will admit, scared me more than I would of liked. Lol.

NARRATIVE:

Said presentation, and I have to keep banging on about this, is the ‘of’ instead of ‘have’ problem. Now I know this wouldn’t bother a lot of people but it’s increasingly making me got a little bit bonkers, as it was all over this script and every time I see it I get yanked right out of the scene. I’m sure McCann will correct this in future scripts now he’s aware but this is a plea anyway – please please please catch it, or your editor catch it, because to me it’s a huge error in grammar a writer should not be making. A few other bits of noticeable SPAG in here too again take me out of the momentum, more so than in ‘Blood Ties’, so again I implore McCann to make sure to the best of his ability he’s caught as much of this as possible going into future episodes.

And thank you for banging on the "of" instead of "have", honestly I didn't know I was doing it until you pointed it out. The first five episodes are already up, but I do plan on going back over them, once I get some free time, but episode 1.06 and up I am watching for it like you wouldn't believe Lol. I was the same way with "their" "there" and "they're" when I first started writing. I would have to change a billion (over exaggeration) of them when I would do my reread editing and now it just comes naturally as I am writing. So, hopefully, now that I know of the "of/have" issue I'll be making a conscious effort to catch them. So thanks.

As to the structure of the piece, we remain in decent and improving territory. McCann’s direction remains at times a little too prosey, determined to describe his world in his minds eye a little more than he needs to, while some of his dialogue, though again getting better, comes off as wooden in places (particularly here the Milo/Griffon scenes, but then Milo seems to be the character he knows how to bring to life the least). Here we get three very clear narratives for our main characters that serve to forward and continue the arcs and character work McCann has already had in place, though its a shame more wasn’t made of the Prophets Moon idea as it really just turns out a bit of a damp squib, a false alarm giving him pretext to put Will in danger, and it had potential to be a bit more than that. From a perspective of characterisation mind, this does its job well enough – Sara/Will take steps together, Milo learns a bit more, and Jeremy/Gwen develops (though why McCann seems to hide the fact the wolf is Gwen I don’t know, it’s obvious to everyone but Jeremy I think), and he does build to a rather intriguing cliffhanger. So Louise is alive? Does that somehow explain why ‘Jake’ wanted to kill Sara? It’s a good twist, decently layered in through Milo too, and quite surprising this early on.

Milo, right now, is in this limbo, this depressing place. All these things are happening to him, and now he's seeing his dead mother. He feels like he's going crazy once more. I think he becomes more alive, and more interesting as story progresses once he starts to understand all these why all these things are happening. Hopefully, I can redeem him for you.

Honestly, I never thought of using the Prophet Moon as more of a threat to the Adlers, and, you're right, it was only there to put both Adlers in danger. I was also subtly hinting that Crescent Bay holds some mysticism to it by revealing that the Kingdom was unaffected. That was my intention at least. Lol.

Jeremy's naive, werewolves can't exist. That's impossible. Lol.

Louise may be alive. As for her being linked with Jake and that being the reason he was after Sara... no. He overheard a conversation taken place earlier in the day in which Sara admits that not only is Will a werewolf, but that she knows he's a werewolf, leading Jake to believe she is one too. The only humans that knows about werewolves, that Jake knows about, are werewolf hunters. I almost wish I would of had Sara shot instead of Will. Might of made things a little more interesting. Hmm. Lol. Alternate ending for the VDVD? I think so. Lol.

CHARACTERS:

SARA/WILL – I’ll badge these two together given the majority of their scenes here are shared, and this relationship is steadily starting to grow on me. Sara is still waiting to bloom as a character, still defined by Will, but Louise showing could change that. Will is not nearly as annoying as I imagined he might be, thanks to McCann wisely writing him humble as opposed to smug like a lot of these romantic heroes are, and while the relationship might be a little bland still it’s at least quite sweet and tolerable, with room for stronger development and conflict.

Oh trust me, there will be conflict. Lol. I am happy that Will's starting to grow on you. As for their relationship I can agree that it does get bland at times. I'm not sure if I am doing it subconsciously because I know what lies ahead for these two or not. I mean when I write them I don't intentionally write them as stale... if that makes sense? Lol.

JEREMY – at first I wondered if there was really much point to Jeremy’s pilgrimage here, and for a lot of the script it’s just him wandering about with Albert’s ashes, so I was glad when he factored into the story. McCann does play a nice few beats that deepen Jeremy, dealing with his grief and then the projected anger before acceptance towards Gwen – and these events should only serve to deepen the relationship between these two. Though I’m not sure quite where he got so good at stitching up injured werewolves…

Jeremy's storyline up to the point of Gwen's entrance was more of a homage to my own grandfather. He passed away suddenly and was like a father to me, so I wanted to give Albert a proper send off. Show some flashbacks of the type of man he was.

HAHA! As for the stitching up of werewolves his grandmother was a nurse and with her being one of Jeremy's legal guardians I would think at some point she had to stitch him up. Lol.

GWEN – the interaction with Jeremy keeps that plot a’rolling, but I remain more interested in Gwen’s proactiveness here and the potential danger she could end up landing everyone in. Contacting her friend from the kingdom gives her vital info but it also threatens their safety and I sense Gwen’s determination to get answers could bring down a whole heap of trouble. Less of a sparkle from her this time around but she remains my favourite.

Isin's a good guy, but you're right, Gwen's going to get herself into a lot of trouble with her eager to jump into dangerous situations. A prime example of this is the next episode. She's a go getter, a kick ass take names later sort of girl.

MILO – he’s still the main character working the least well I’m afraid. It doesn’t help that McCann has sectioned him off so quickly from almost everyone else – he’s had about, what, three scenes with Sara so far? He needed to be established as more of a character I feel before McCann got into exploring his pyro powers because its a wholly uninteresting journey right now, simply because he’s still not really been defined much as a character – plus I groaned at the inevitability of Griffon just being yet another person who makes a mysterious phone call. Enough already! They need to be used more sparingly else the enigma of forces in shadow will grow very annoying.

Milo's fumbling around in the dark at the moment, not aware of his purpose or true potential. Once that is revealed I think he picks up a bit. As for him not being defined as a character I'll have to work on that.

I had a feeling Griffon would cause some rolling of the eyes especially after the last review of so many secrets Lol. His backstory is given early on and you won't have to wait too long to know who he is and what he's up to. Griffon is taking full advantage of the fact that Milo is secluded, so to speak, from the rest of the group at the moment.

TO CONCLUDE:

If not quite the pulse pounding narrative rush of the previous episode, Bitten here takes a little more of a chunk from its characters, Darrin McCann choosing to focus three different narratives on several burgeoning character stories and plot lines. Not all of them really go anywhere, and it’s fair to say they fizzle out a bit, but the solid character work by McCann and a rather interesting cliffhanging twist keep this one motoring along, even if the noticeable SPAG took some of the enjoyment out of it for me personally. A show still developing but remaining entertaining along the way.

BLACK HOLE RATING:

★★★

Thanks so much, Tony. This is helping a lot! Truly. I will definitely be keeping an eye out in the future for SPAG errors. Hopefully I can redeem myself in the character development area for some of the characters as well. Thanks again!!

[Tony O'Black]

Pleasure mate. I'm sure you'll sort any SPAG out for the next run of eps - once people point these things out, you become more watchful. I have faith.

And much as it's still developing, I do enjoy the show. Huge potential here with the characters & world, so keep trucking along and don't give it up.

[Tony O'Black]

'A Tale of Two Brothers' - BLACK HOLE REVIEWED

[Deleted]

Thanks for reading and reviewing, Tony!

The first major thing I need to talk about is Vivian, because McCann pulled a very frustrating cheat here. The end of ‘Once in a Blue Moon’, and I’ve since rechecked this, has quite clearly in the direction: ‘there stands LOUISE HALE’. Black and white. So then to have Vivian standing there, her identical twin sister, is seriously misleading the reader. All the last episode had to say was ‘there stands a woman looking exactly like Louise Hale’. Done. Then the follow up can get away with Vivian, but to state it’s a dead character Milo has been seeing in visions, then reverse that in a very confusing, under-directed way, just made me annoyed at what I thought was quite an interesting cliffhanger, and soured my enjoyment of this episode. I don’t mind Vivian as a character, or indeed the path she takes Milo on, but I do mind a long con – or a short con in this case, it’s just not fair play when it comes to storytelling and I hope for a bit more honesty going forward.

I'm sorry this twist was frustrating for you. The reason it was stated in 1.03 'Once In A Blue Moon' "there stands LOUISE HALE" is because to the children it was Louise Hale. In 1.04 I clearly stated that Sara had no idea her mother had a sister, let alone a twin. If an actual television show would of ended like that do you think they would of informed the viewer right off the bat that this was not Louise Hale? No, they wouldn't. They would of done exactly what I did and wait until the following episode to reveal in fact that it wasn't. So, I am sorry this soured your view of this episode but I never had any intention of that being Louise Hale.

Structurally, I was pleased to see Milo’s story interweave much more with the rest of the characters, and McCann definitely goes to pains here to make sure everyone involved knows about the supernatural world around them, so there’s no ambiguity or characters second guessing anymore – such as Jeremy, who was in danger of chasing everyone’s tails until he learned the truth about Gwen. I was also pleased to see vampires show up, as I suspected they at some point would given these two species are often so entwined, and Embryce turns out to be quite a nasty piece of work, while the mythology and backstory of how vampires work is again well spelled out by McCann and thought through, even if it has Gabriel ultimately spouting a bit too much exposition.

This episode was a frustrating one to pen because I knew that I needed the reader to know all the ins and outs of the vampire lore. I thought who better to explain it then Gabriel. I actually cut quite a bit of his dialogue from the first draft because it got quite lengthy. This was also frustrating because I knew it was the point in which every member of this group was in the loop and would start working more as a team rather than individual stories, it was just pushing them a little bit further so that their stories finally came to a head.

I did struggle to buy though the idea Will & Gwen would just immediately have their asses kicked once they got the Blood Bank, that doesn’t seem to track with how kickass we’ve seen they are in previous episodes, and just a plot device so McCann can tee up Gabriel’s ultimate machinations – a twist that if I didn’t quite see coming makes sense in the context of his character, and McCann understands the drama of conflict between the brothers. I am, however, increasingly bored of this supernatural hunting group McCann is bizarrely trying to keep in the shadows – Ed spells out what we already guessed in a very awkward monologue at the climax, Wayne is offed in a strangely casual way for the character who McCann had built up, and I clearly missed the point in previous episodes where Abigail turned out to be a callous cow with secrets. I’m hoping the Sherriff figures them all out & kicks some arse, because they’re not being introduced well at all I’m afraid.

Vampires are much stronger than modern werewolves. Modern werewolves are more human than werewolf, so, although they are stronger than humans, they are weaker than vampires, since vampires are 'pure' monsters.

The secret has been weighing on Ed for quite some time. And with Milo telling Ed he doesn't know who he is, Ed just needed to blurt it out and make Sara understand why he did the things he did. This does not sit right with the Hale siblings going into the next episode.

The Juggarnauts have more of a prominent role in the next three episodes where you'll learn pretty much everything there is to know about them and their mission statement. Abigail's double life has been hinted at since the second episode. She's not a bad person she just has a very different view of the supernatural world.

SARA – she’s slowly starting to grow on me, but she still remains incredibly bland as a person on her own, entirely defined by her relationship to Will & the supernatural happenings going on. To contextualise this – Will is a burdened soul, Gwen has that edge & spunk, Jeremy is grieving, Milo is on a voyage of discovery… so what is Sara doing? The best I can think of is that she’s in love, or falling in love with Will, but that still is defining her by someone else. I really want McCann to start getting under the skin of Sara, because four episodes in I still don’t feel I could define her much more to someone as ‘uh… the blonde chick’.

I'm not going to beat a dead horse here. I'm sorry you're not picking up a sense of her personality or who she truly is. Right now she is being defined by her relationship with Will. She's infatuated with this sense of danger. That's the best way I can describe it at the moment. There is also a reason she feels so 'attracted' to Will.

WILL/GWEN/GABRIEL – putting these three together here as the storyline tethers them quite a bit, once again punching up the differences between the siblings. Gabriel is a typical character of his ilk – the laid back, line chewing bad boy, the black sheep, and that puts him in direct contrast to the more measured, careful Will – with Gwen right in the middle, straddling both sides, and she again is hugely entertaining as she tries putting her brothers’ different ideologies in line.

Will really just wants to separate himself from this supernatural world, however, he still feels a strong bond to family and what that means. Gabriel, although the man behind the veil in this episode, is actually a pawn in the grander scheme of things. He holds a pretty deep grudge towards his father and not just because he banished him. Gwen is always fun to write. She's not all innocent like she makes herself out to be though. We get a glimpse into her past next episode.

JEREMY – my wish for him to slightly provide the comedy isn’t quite coming together as I hoped, or in the way I think would suit Jeremy, as he’s still in the stages of grief & he’s likely as his relationship with Gwen develops & understanding of the supernatural world, to discover a few family secrets hinted at, plus Wayne’s murder again will take him on a more sombre route – it’ll be interesting to see where McCann heads with him. I enjoyed the points with Gabriel here, incidentally; that’s a dynamic I could see working in future.

Jeremy's journey is one of a boy becoming a man. He starts out widely naive and in the dark, but as time passes and events happen, Jeremy learns quickly what it's like to be an adult and make hard decisions. As for Jeremy and Gabriel's dynamic I truly enjoyed writing their scenes together. Almost like brothers, or a mentor and his student. You may get to see more of that down the line.

MILO – he starts to edge more into the frame now as he learns more about his witch powers, yet Milo still remains the most uninteresting character in the show right now for me, mainly because outside of firing a few bits of flame (surely that’s pyrokinesis, not Wicca?), he’s really not serving much of a purpose. McCann is playing the ‘ah but, wait until later in the season…’ which is fine but it’s not always that fun reading until we GET to that point. Let’s have Milo really making an impact now he’s figuring out who he is.

Milo is an elemental, a very powerful witch. I'm sorry that you don't feel any sort of connection to Milo, or his journey. He's on a journey of discovery and he's finding out who he is, or more so what he is along the way. He's not going to become this kickass fighting machine overnight. That's a little unrealistic in my opinion.

I wouldn’t say one of the better episodes Bitten has delivered so far. ‘A Tale of Two Brothers’ has its good moments and character beats, introducing a couple of very interesting new players who hopefully can direct the storyline into new areas, while Darrin McCann again delivers his well created mythology neatly. Yet once again we have some very clear SPAG problems that should have been spotted, a really badly done cliffhanger fake-out that’s just cheating in terms of plot, and a few characters & arcs that aren’t yet fizzing as they should. Still lots of potential, however this one didn’t reach it enough for me.

BLACK HOLE RATING:

★★1/2

I'm sorry this episode wasn't exactly what you were looking for. Hopefully the next episode will be better for you. Thanks again for reading and reviewing.

[Tony O'Black]

Feb 22, 2013 9:36:04 GMT -6 Darrin McCann said:

I'm sorry this twist was frustrating for you. The reason it was stated in 1.03 'Once In A Blue Moon' "there stands LOUISE HALE" is because to the children it was Louise Hale. In 1.04 I clearly stated that Sara had no idea her mother had a sister, let alone a twin. If an actual television show would of ended like that do you think they would of informed the viewer right off the bat that this was not Louise Hale? No, they wouldn't. They would of done exactly what I did and wait until the following episode to reveal in fact that it wasn't. So, I am sorry this soured your view of this episode but I never had any intention of that being Louise Hale.

I do see what you mean there, and it's a very fair point, but I would be equally as annoyed at a TV show that did it, and call it out for bad form!

Just me. I'm just not a fan of cheaty cliffhangers that lead you in one direction before completely switching to another. It's why I have such a problem with how Lost ended, because that's exactly what its last season did!

The secret has been weighing on Ed for quite some time. And with Milo telling Ed he doesn't know who he is, Ed just needed to blurt it out and make Sara understand why he did the things he did. This does not sit right with the Hale siblings going into the next episode.

It just felt a bit like information you needed to get across, more than Ed. At least to me anyway.

The Juggarnauts have more of a prominent role in the next three episodes where you'll learn pretty much everything there is to know about them and their mission statement. Abigail's double life has been hinted at since the second episode. She's not a bad person she just has a very different view of the supernatural world.

You definitely need to contextualise them soon, because right now they're just people walking around, watching, saying cryptic things and shouting into phones.

I'm not going to beat a dead horse here. I'm sorry you're not picking up a sense of her personality or who she truly is. Right now she is being defined by her relationship with Will. She's infatuated with this sense of danger. That's the best way I can describe it at the moment. There is also a reason she feels so 'attracted' to Will.

Then let's see it, soon. It'll likely give Sara more depth, because characters - like people in RL - defined by others are yawnsome. If there's more to Sara, let's bring it out.

Will really just wants to separate himself from this supernatural world, however, he still feels a strong bond to family and what that means. Gabriel, although the man behind the veil in this episode, is actually a pawn in the grander scheme of things. He holds a pretty deep grudge towards his father and not just because he banished him. Gwen is always fun to write. She's not all innocent like she makes herself out to be though. We get a glimpse into her past next episode.

Yeah I like the dynamic here, it's a nice contrast with Gwen in the middle. Definitely keep making the Adler's central to the show, they're way more interesting than the Hale's.

As for Jeremy and Gabriel's dynamic I truly enjoyed writing their scenes together. Almost like brothers, or a mentor and his student. You may get to see more of that down the line.

A-1!

Milo is an elemental, a very powerful witch. I'm sorry that you don't feel any sort of connection to Milo, or his journey. He's on a journey of discovery and he's finding out who he is, or more so what he is along the way. He's not going to become this kickass fighting machine overnight. That's a little unrealistic in my opinion.

I'm not saying kickass, just a bit less wet. If I'm not intrigued by Milo as a person, why should I be intrigued by his journey? When you stack this plotline against the Adler one for depth & interest, it doesn't compare right now I'm afraid.

I'm sorry this episode wasn't exactly what you were looking for. Hopefully the next episode will be better for you. Thanks again for reading and reviewing.

I hope so too, because I've dug eps 2 & 3 & still really think your best is yet to come with Bitten. Keep going mate.

[MJ]

Review of Bitten 1x05 'Lustful Acts of Aggression'

Let me start this review off by saying the title is quite apt considering some of the events in this episode, haha! Anyway, onto actual story stuff.

So I really liked the introduction to Fox at the start of the episode in a sort of flashback sequence and then jumping straight back to the present and re-intoducing her into the story. As a character I kinda hate her because she comes in causing all kinds of trouble but she certainly made things interesting for everyone, that's for sure!

Gwen and Jeremy, I don't know if I've ever really been that invested in their relationship but I was kinda disappointed that whatever relationship they did have came to a screeching halt in this episode. I was actually a bit surprised a Gwen in this episode when she went off at Jeremy about the ring. I don't know if it was just me but it seemed a little out of the blue? I mean, it's not like Jeremy has been acting all that suspicious or anything so I don't know why she was so quick to jump down his throat. I dunno, maybe I missed something there but that was the impression I got from all that XD

As for Jeremy, I was kinda disappointed we didn't get to find out more about his family's connection to the vampires! I thought that was really cool. Though I do worry about Jeremy's search for power, even though it is with sort of good intentions...? All I can see is bad news coming out of that.

Totally picked the Vivian was the one to kill Wayne, didn't pick that she was working with Abigail and the Juggernauts (that's what they were called yeah?). My gosh, everyone is this show has a double agenda!

Also, wasn't expecting Ed's death at all. I think that saddest part of that though was when Griffon went to tell Milo, ugh, that really tugged at my heartstrings. Mind you, that was abruptly cut short when they were both abducted. Does anyone get any peace around here? Bloody hell... XD

Also, omg, I'm so frustrated we still don't know why Sara doesn't change into a werewolf! (you haven't told us, right? I hope i'm not missing important plot points) I think that is the ONE mystery I want an answer to more than anything else, haha!

Anyway, I'll wrap up this kinda hodgepodge review and say that I quite liked this episode. I think it's back up there with the caliber of episode 2 and 3 and was a good episode to end your first run of episodes on

[Deleted]

Wow, thanks so much for reading and reviewing, MJ!!

Review of Bitten 1x05 'Lustful Acts of Aggression'

Let me start this review off by saying the title is quite apt considering some of the events in this episode, haha! Anyway, onto actual story stuff.

So I really liked the introduction to Fox at the start of the episode in a sort of flashback sequence and then jumping straight back to the present and re-intoducing her into the story. As a character I kinda hate her because she comes in causing all kinds of trouble but she certainly made things interesting for everyone, that's for sure!

I loved writing Fox. She is a complex individual. Everything that involved her and will was the only truth she spoke in that episode. She really loves Will and the only way for them to ever be together again is if she forces Will back home. This girl is crazy. Lol.

Gwen and Jeremy, I don't know if I've ever really been that invested in their relationship but I was kinda disappointed that whatever relationship they did have came to a screeching halt in this episode. I was actually a bit surprised a Gwen in this episode when she went off at Jeremy about the ring. I don't know if it was just me but it seemed a little out of the blue? I mean, it's not like Jeremy has been acting all that suspicious or anything so I don't know why she was so quick to jump down his throat. I dunno, maybe I missed something there but that was the impression I got from all that XD

Don't give up on them just yet. They're lifers in my book. Gwen and Jeremy are my realistic couple in an unrealistic world. They're going to go through what normal couples do, one being distrust at some point. This is that point. Gwen's sudden burst of "I can't trust Jeremy" comes from realizing that this relationship could never work because of who she is and where she comes from. There's laws stating both will be killed if she loves a human, and this seems a little like history repeating. The ring was merely a tool to make the hard decision she didn't want to do easier.

As for Jeremy, I was kinda disappointed we didn't get to find out more about his family's connection to the vampires! I thought that was really cool. Though I do worry about Jeremy's search for power, even though it is with sort of good intentions...? All I can see is bad news coming out of that.

We do get to explore that more, in fact we get to explore Jeremy's options in the next couple episodes. I mean after-all his father was a Juggernaut... Someone could be walking in their father's footsteps. The first episode back from the hiatus we find out how Wayne joined the Juggernauts and a little bit of why he hates monsters so much... why he did hate monsters so much, past tense, Wayne's dead. Lol. Jeremy has an interesting arc in the back half of the season and it relates to Embryce, the Adlers and the Rebels.

Totally picked the Vivian was the one to kill Wayne, didn't pick that she was working with Abigail and the Juggernauts (that's what they were called yeah?). My gosh, everyone is this show has a double agenda!

Not all the Juggernauts are fully aware of the relationship between Abigail and Vivien. Only a select few, and it becomes an issue once the others do eventually find out. We learn how this evil duo came to be in episode 1.07. Plus side we now know that Vivien is planning something against the entire werewolf species and it concerns the Adlers, Sara, and Milo.

Also, wasn't expecting Ed's death at all. I think that saddest part of that though was when Griffon went to tell Milo, ugh, that really tugged at my heartstrings. Mind you, that was abruptly cut short when they were both abducted. Does anyone get any peace around here? Bloody hell... XD

Yeah, I loved that scene between Milo and Griffon. I wanted to make sure the "kiss" was pushed to the very backburner, because it was inappropriate for start, but also to give Milo the mindset to understand that his father is dead and he's got no way of fixing the disagreement between them. His father died knowing that Milo hated him. As for the abduction, that's Milo's fault Lol. He shouldn't have saved Abigail. Lol.

Also, omg, I'm so frustrated we still don't know why Sara doesn't change into a werewolf! (you haven't told us, right? I hope i'm not missing important plot points) I think that is the ONE mystery I want an answer to more than anything else, haha!

I know, that's the one secret I've held onto very tightly Lol. We find out exactly why Sara never turned in 1.08. SPOILER -- Sara falls ill with the same mysterious sickness that took her mother and it's a race against time to find a cure. In this episode Milo meets another elemental.

Anyway, I'll wrap up this kinda hodgepodge review and say that I quite liked this episode. I think it's back up there with the caliber of episode 2 and 3 and was a good episode to end your first run of episodes on

Thank you so much, MJ. This is the episode I scrapped originally because it was heading in the same direction of 1.04 and I didn't like that. This episode was my turn around episode, I feel, and hopefully that shows in the episodes to come. Thanks again!