Beauty and the Beast Review: Screw You Gabe

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There are a lot of feelings rumbling round after watching Beauty and the Beast Season 2 Episode 15 - and not all of them are good. 

Specifically, after viewing this hour, it  dawned on me why this season has been so difficult to watch. Not only has Cat been incredibly wishy washy, but she's been allowing herself to be a ball in a game played by Vincent and Gabe. 

If Cat had been strong enough to stand up for what she believed in and not so easily swayed by the power of suggestion, there wouldn't be a game at all. That's what's so frustrating.

Not for one minute have any of us watching believed Cat wanted Gabe or ever fell out of love with Vincent, but for some reason the writers felt it was necessary to force a love triangle up on us (again) as a way to drive the lovers apart.

It didn't work.

The longer the hour played out, the more blatant it became that the writers were pandering to the audience. If anyone is reading, I'd welcome the opportunity to be proven wrong. 

The evidence of this indulgence includes Cat's continued indecision about Gabe, her further wordplay around what has to happen for the two of them to work when she clearly knows it's futile, her short bursts of acceptance that Vincent's beast senses work on their behalf coupled seconds later with nods of disappointment that he has again chosen the wayward path and gone beastly and more. 

Cat started using the phrase "Gabe says" when considering how to handle Sam's case and whether or not to include Vincent. Gabe says?!? What about "I think"? Cat seems to have lost the ability to think for herself and that's why she's become a volleyball being bounced between the emotions of two men -- one who thinks he knows what's best for her and the other who wants what's best for her. 

The only person who doesn't seem to have a say in this equation is Cat, and I'm not OK with that. As a woman, I'm a little insulted that what was once a beautiful love story between a man struggling to find acceptance with the beast inside of him and the woman who was willing to stand by his side and be his strength when he faltered has become nothing more than a cliche. 

Two men are fighting over Catherine and she's going wherever the wind takes her. "Catch Me if You Can" was being touted as a game changer. Does that mean being picked up in Vincent's arms at the end of the hour is the end of this back and forth between the two men? Has Cat made up her mind or has Vincent made up his to fight for her? There is a difference.

A few things could happen. Cat could wake up and say it was a mistake, that she's still with Gabe and we'll all groan and possibly put down the remote for good. She could realize what an idiot she has been for questioning their love, pull herself up by the bootstraps and realize that loving Vincent means loving the beast. 

Despite Gabe's announcement that he's tired of being the nice guy, the likelihood is that he will drop Cat when he learns about her latest adventure. At his core, he doesn't appear to be a masochist.

If all of these things hadn't been so bothersome, it would have been a lot more fun to watch the car accident scene. Being uncomfortably close is a good way to make people question their decisions. It would have been more interesting if I believed for one second that Cat had actually chosen Gabe and not that he had chosen her and she had meekly complied.

This was good stuff:

Gabe: How close are you?
Cat: Ohhh, too close.
Vincent: I think he's talking about Sam.
Cat: Oh. Close!

It's too bad that there wasn't any real tension involved with their awkward game of car crash Twister because the two of them have never been out of love. If one or the other had sincerely moved on and they were thrust into that situation, it would have been spine tingling and breathtaking as we hoped for them to rekindle what they had lost. It was funny, but nothing was rekindled, because the fire has never gone out.

We'll see what happens next with VinCat. If Gabe is still in the picture, I'm going to be greatly disappointed on behalf of all women. You're welcome.

The business with Sam still isn't over. He's behind bars, but swallowed what appeared to be a capsule of the beast formula or blood or something. In any event, it wasn't made out of normal capsule material, because it would have been dissolved long before he chose to perch over the toilet. I've lost interest in what he's doing now. The story was interesting -- then Sam arrived. He killed it. Not in a "cool, you killed it man" kind of way, unfortunately.

Want to relive the best of VinCat? You can when you watch Beauty and the Beast online.

Did Cat make a decision or was one made for her?

Catch Me if You Can Review

Editor Rating: 3.7 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.2 / 5.0 (109 Votes)

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.

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Beauty and the Beast Season 2 Episode 15 Quotes

J.T.: What's wrong with your place?
Vincent: Well, I don't have facial recognition software or gummy worms.
J.T.: Yep, that's how I lure the ladies.

Gabe: How close are you?
Cat: Ohhh, too close.
Vincent: I think he's talking about Sam.
Cat: Oh. Close!