Courtesy of SPACE / Syfy
Action thy name is Bitten. The mutts finally attack the Pack and the mayhem is glorious.
Let’s bitch it out…I may not have much use for whining, maudlin Elena (Laura Vandervoort), but I sure do like in-control Clay (Greyston Holt), who manages to come off as both civil and frighteningly competent in this episode.
This is basically the “all hell breaks loose” episode of Bitten as the mutts mount simultaneous attacks: Leblanc (Curtis Caravaggio) and Marsden (Pascal Langdale) hit Logan (Michael Xavier) and Rachel’s (Genelle Williams) house while Santos (Michael Luckett) and Olson (Patrick Garrow) go after Clay, Elena and Philip (Paul Greene). If I had one complaint about ‘Settling’, it’s that it takes quite a while to ramp up. We have to wade through too much questioning (from Rachel) and moping (from Elena) before we finally get to the action. In generally I would argue that this episode doesn’t serve its women well, particularly Rachel who comes off as a bit of an imbecile. The tension in Logan’s voice alone should have spirited her into action, and yet she doddles around until danger comes calling (or sniffing, as the case may be). I can appreciate how challenging it would be to suddenly be told to pack a bag and run away, but as a viewer this was a frustrating experience. My notes basically just read “Move bitch” over and over again.
Thankfully all of that is put aside once the mutts attack. Logan defends himself well, taking out Marsden and Leblanc fairly easily, though he does suffer a fairly nasty looking stomach wound (and considering what happened to Antonio, this could be bad news). Clay shockingly doesn’t fare as well – Santos and Olson are a more coordinated pair, which results in much more destruction in Philip and Elena’s apartment (that IKEA furniture sure does break pretty!).
I did like that Philip thought he could defend himself and almost immediately gets sliced and diced. Of course Elena ends up saving him, but in doing so she reveals her true nature (not sure why). Obviously that’s a big deal since humans who know the truth are supposed to be silenced, but no one was around to see it (Clay was drugged and long gone by this time). So the question is whether Elena tells anyone now that Philip knows the truth. I think they’ll both stay silent – or this will be picked up should he survive his attack, which is where things more or less leave off. We have a cliffhanger on three fronts: 1) Santos and Olson now have Clay and 2-3) both Logan and Philip are severely wounded. I have no doubt that Clay will be fine, but the fates of the other two could be fair game. Surely the body count has to rise before the finale, right?
Other Observations:
- Jeremy (Greg Bryd) and Nick (Steve Lund) are stuck in B-plot land, literally waiting for the FBI to search Stonehaven after an analysis of the body found on the grounds connects back to Leblanc (we hilariously never see the FBI search team. That’s one way to save on hiring extras!) . The scenes are completely dull, though they do give Jeremy an opportunity to get a mild flirt on with the Sheriff (Fiona Highet).
- Elena’s sole redeeming moment in ‘Settling’ is her conversation with Logan about how the Pack laws need to change and evolve or else they will die out. With the season (series?) finale on the horizon, this seems particularly astute. The entire season the Pack has made reactive decisions that have only allowed the mutts to do greater and greater damage and it’s partially because the Pack is so desperate to preserve the status quo and remain sequestered at Stonehaven. Jeremy and Nick’s scenes allude to this, as well. It seems that Jeremy’s liberal attitudes are why Antonio was allowed to have a relationship with a human woman and still remain a Pack member. There’s some good stuff here, but it’s glossed over.
- I love how Logan, Clay and Elena all make it sound like they’re connected to the mob (Rachel even asks as much). That’s one way to get the humans to believe the people coming after you mean serious business!
- More to love: Philip admits that he wants to spend the rest of his life getting to know Elena and then he proposes. Her response: “I can’t answer that right now.” Ha ha – she would seriously be the craziest girlfriend!
- I don’t get the technical choices involved in (what we can presume to be) the introduction of the Big Bad, James Williams. The camera takes his point of view as he drives along beside Santos as though it will be a big reveal, but when the camera cuts to the outside and we see his face, it’s clearly someone we’ve never met before? Why the build-up unless we’re meant to recognize him?
- Finally, how quickly would the doorman at Elena’s building get fired? He just allows two men who claim to be friends of hers in and Philip ends up stabbed? Hope that guy saved up his pennies because there’s no way he’s keeping that job….
Your turn: what did you think of those fight scenes? Were you as frustrated by Rachel and Elena’s passivity as me? Bored by Jeremy and Nick’s scenes? Think the Pack rules are (partially) to blame for the current situation? Sound off below.
Bitten airs Saturdays at 9pm EST on SPACE in Canada and Mondays at 8pm EST on Syfy in the US. Please note: there will be no review next week, but there will be a supersized review for the finale.