Here's my much too long review...but that was a fun rewatch!
In the opening scene, which picks up moments after the last episode ended, Catherine is much more preoccupied about the consequences of Heather seeing Vincent than he is; the memory of what almost happened to Alex is still very much on her mind. I like the way he is able to calm her fears and bring her back into the moment and, at the same time, give her the space she needs to deal with her sister. There are many magical moments between them in this short scene..the two best: the last look he gives her right before jumping off the roof-a promise that he will collect on that rain check and that she won't be disappointed (he will unsuccessfully try to collect several times throughout the episode and we will begin to wonder if in fact it will never rain); the way she catches her breath as he jumps (part of her attraction to and love for Vincent is tied up with the fact that his being a beast gives him special abilities).
The opening scene serves two purposes: (1) it sets up the theme of tough love that will be present in every single scene, as it relates to every relationship: Vincent and Catherine, Heather and Catherine, Heather and Darius, Darius and Joe, Joe and Tess, Joe and Miranda, Tess and Catherine.......(2) it brings the theme of truth/honesty and lies/dishonesty to the forefront: nearly every single character is lying to themselves and/or to someone else, and at the same time, there are many moments of absolute honesty between characters.
In the scene with Heather, Catherine starts out by lying to her sister about Vincent, while I feel that Heather is being honest with Cat when she says that she wants to like the guy her sister likes, that she wants to give him a chance. It is Heather's honesty that disarms Catherine and allows her to lie to herself by contemplating the possibility of doing what normal sisters do.
In the warehouse, Catherine now has to convince Vincent that meeting Heather is a good idea. Vincent is very aware that a relationship with him can be anything but normal, but he is so caught up in their love and he so wants to please her that he agrees to something that he would normally never contemplate. (Vincent may have been living a fantasy in Cold Turkey, but Catherine is living hers here and eagerly dragging a willing Vincent along for the ride.) However, this is another romantic moment for them: I love the smiles, the looks, the way the progress they have made in their relationship is their own little secret and JT is absolutely clueless. Everyone is caught up in their own little world an preoccupied solely with meeting their own needs.
(
Bill the beast, the delivery order is the kiss that is yet to be delivered since JT interrupted.)
Talking about clueless and misguided, Evan considering Murfield's offer without speaking to Catherine or JT is a little "loco". He is so easily convinced that the creature is dangerous and needs to be contained (foreshadowing Heart of Darkness), because he already senses that the creature is connected to Catherine...I am not sure if he is solely motivated by a need to protect Catherine or if subconsciously, he is jealous of the creature because he senses that the connection between them runs deep and is something he cannot understand.
Did Catherine really believe she could create "a safe controlled environment" into which she could introduce Vincent? Clearly and adorably, they are both wearing rose coloured glasses. I love how this more self-conscious and shyer Vincent, when compared to the Vincent in S2, is not flustered by Heather's questions. I believe he even surprises himself by telling the truth and, at the same time, coming up with all the answers every sister would want to hear. He manages to tell the truth in an evening where Cat will find herself telling many lies as the entire situation becomes less and less safe and more and more out of control. Like in the opening scene, Catherine is much more flustered that Vincent. It's one more scene filled with truths and lies, and we begin to see that Darius too, is far from being an open book.
(And,
Bill the beast, the delivery guy here is the pizza delivery guy! LOL)
(My little annoyance: they keep on mentioning one picture throughout the episode, but, in fact, Heather has many pictures of Catherine and Vincent. In the window scene, after Vincent kills Darius, she only removes one of the pictures from Heather's desk-very odd.)
It's ironic that Heather decides that she does not trust Vincent when, in fact, Darius is the most untrustworthy person in the room-she has easily trusted him because he is Joe's brother....Mr. Trustworthy himself!!!! So many people are hiding things from each other, the question is wether you are a good or a bad guy who happens to be hiding something....unfortunately for Heather, she has her guys confused!
This scene ends with another foiled attempt at a first kiss; the first time around, I was beginning to ask myself if it would even happen during this episode.
The constant repetition of the word "normal", leads the characters and us, the viewers, to question the meaning of the word and ask ourselves what is really normal or not normal?
The "intervention" scene is very sad; Both Tess and Heather are in toxic relationships and here they are with a holier than thou approach lecturing Cat about her relationship. I'm glad she calls them out on it! The scene ends with a multitude of lies and emphasizes the fact that everyone is keeping secrets from each other.
The alley scene allows us to see how Catherine's and Vincent's fragile fake "normal" is beginning to crumble around them-they are both flustered and preoccupied with outside factors that make it difficult for them to focus on what they need to focus on, their relationship.
Joe's party begins with the scene between Cat and Heather which blows up in both their faces. I would venture to say that Catherine has not been a "normal" sister since the night their mother was killed; that night changed every relationship in Catherine's life, and it is really only since she found Vincent that she has been
re-examining and re-building her relationships. She has come a far way with Heather; unfortunately, at this moment, Heather want's Catherine to open up to her about the one thing Catherine needs to keep secret in order to keep Heather safe.
We immediately break to the scene with Darius and Joe and are reminded that this sibling relationship is also plagued by lies.
I love how Catherine calls on Vincent when she needs reassurance about Heather; on the other hand, with both her "only other two signifiant relationships" in jeopardy, he is all she has to hold on to at the moment.
From Catherine's brief conversation with Evan, it is clear that she is so caught up in her own problems that she has not stopped to truly listen to and consider the implications of what Evan is saying to her and that he is mostly bothered by the fact that Cat is protecting the creature because he cannot understand her reasoning.
Catherine just keeps going from one difficult conversation to the next, never getting what she needs or what she wants. She is so busy trying to please everyone else, that she is actually failing everyone else, but, mostly, herself. Heather wanted Cat to bring Vincent into her life and Cat conceded; now she wants Vincent out of their lives and, once again, Cat will oblige. Poor Vincent is being bounced around like a ping pong ball, and the last thing he wants is to come between Cat and her sister. And there we have it, her fantasy world comes tumbling down as Vincent tells her that she can't have normal with him and that she needs to really consider if she wants a relationship with him. As they leave each other this time, the mood is completely different, there is no attempt at a kiss, and it seems as if it is all over before it even began.
The scene where Vincent unintentionally kills Darius to save Heather is sad on so many levels and is the first of several scenes that break my heart. Heather never knows who Darius really was and what he was willing to do to save his own skin; she never knows that he was a coward and that the hero who saved her is the man her sister loves whom she does not want in either of their lives. I feel for Vincent when he realizes what he has done. I love how he runs to Catherine; how he needs her acceptance and understanding, how she gives it freely. The following section at the scene of the crime is heart wrenching...Cat with Heather, Joe with Darius, Tess and Evan on the outside, Cat looking up at Vincent on the roof top...the way they look at each other says so much without one word being whispered.
In the precinct, we are reminded of another constant thread in the series, tragedy in the characters' lives ends their sense of normalcy. For Heather it is like when their mom died all over again; nothing has been normal for Catherine since her mother died; nothing has been normal for Vincent since his brothers died, nothing has been normal for JT since Vincent returned from the dead; nothing will be normal for Joe now that Darius has died; nothing has been normal for Evan since he survived his ordeal in the tunnels......
So, Joe will swear to revenge his brother's death, Evan will sell his soul to the devil to capture the beast, and Vincent will decide to end his relationship with Catherine in order to keep her and her loved ones safe from Murfield....but in the middle of all this chaos, Catherine will, somehow, see things for what they are and realize that in a world going crazy, she and Vincent are each other's sanity and clarity. I do like that Cat tells Heather that she loves her before going to meet Vincent on the rooftop. She does not have to choose; she can love them both, keep them both in her life.
The episode opens with a roof top scene where everything seems possible for Vincent and Catherine; they are finally at a place where they can begin a relationship. In the final rooftop scene, as Vincent sets Catherine free, in order to give her what she wants, we fear that there may be distance between them once again. While the events that unfolded made Vincent doubt the possibility of their love, they led Catherine to realize that Vincent is what she needs to be happy.
They both come to see that what is considered normal, is not normal for them; that their normal is simply being together and working to overcome the challenges they face while sharing the deep love they have for each other. The kiss and their declaration of love for each other will always be one of the best moments of the entire series.