Beauty and the Beast Review: The Red Haired Beauty

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This is television. I shouldn't be this angry, but considering my excitement for a new installment of Beauty and the Beast building what happened had both me AND Vincent "Seeing Red."

The winter finale, "Bridesmaids Up!," was so beautiful and highlighted what potential there was for a love affair between Cat and Vincent. Even though Evan discovered Vincent's DNA was changing rapidly, more toward the animal side than human, Cat was going to dive in and give herself to Vincent. One car accident later and she's being nursed back to health by his former fiance.

Say what???

Cat's True Feelings

Vincent has a specific taste in women, doesn't he? Alex looks enough like Alex that they could be sisters. Briefly watching the commercials for the episode, I genuinely thought Cat was screaming Vincent's name, with a different hair color, as if in a dream or something. Hell, she was just in an accident, it didn't seem so out of reach. Instead it was Vincent's ex. That, my friends, is a type!

It was really uncool, and completely out of character, that Vincent lied to both Cat and Alex about his relationship with each. Telling Cat that Alex was a friend and Alex that Cat was his handler would only come back to bite him in the ass. Did he forget he was in love with a detective? Finding his past in a shoebox in a stranger's closet was a painful and cruel way for Cat to stumble across the truth.

Was telling Alex about Cat the most difficult thing Vincent ever had to do? Telling her about a secret experiment and a group hunting him down wasn't enough to throw off the woman he was supposed to marry? That was a huge disappointment to me. If he had lied only to Alex, that would be one thing, but he lied to Cat. After everything she had put on the line to protect him, it was unacceptable.

Even when Vincent was 'saving' Alex from what turned out to be an ordinary stalker (another bummer - it wasn't even Meerfield), I didn't feel Vincent was being a hero. Yes, the guy was a creep, freak and a weirdo, but it wasn't Vincent's place to use his beast to kill him. He could have retained him just as easily. It only made him feel good and left more unexplained crap that Cat would have to deal with and try to explain away, but this time she didn't get to walk away with the guy on her arm.

We can top that off with Vincent appearing at her window without even an apology for lying about who Alex was to him before accusing Cat of using Alex as an excuse to get between them. Seriously? Pick your battles, 'Vince.' That was not the right time to point out Cat's penchant for bad boys and hold yourself up as the ultimate and make puppy eyes about her running away from commitment at a slight, because the news she received was huge!

The only one in that conversation who wasn't being honest was Vincent. Just like he ran away from Alex when Meerfield was after him, he was running away from her again, but using Cat as an excuse.

Their relationship never had a proper ending. It would have been hard enough putting himself fully into a new one with Cat if he had never seen Alex again, but there she was - waiting, ready and on the inside of his secret. Granted, she didn't know the beast, but he told her enough (quickly) that the loss of her in his life was painfully obvious.

I don't blame him for being happy to see the woman he was intending to marry, but I really dislike the way he treated Cat from the moment he saw Alex from the escalator. If you imagine Cat at the top and Alex at the bottom, Vincent was walking at a normal pace back up the down escalator - pretty much going nowhere, but slowly being drawn back to Alex.

Which brings me to the other obvious point. With Vincent's questionable state of affairs, will Cat revisit her interest in Evan? It was unclear whether Heather and Evan were going to be involved or not, but it was definitely clear Evan still holds Cat in the highest regard.

Evan recognized that the beast saved Cat from the car before he rushed in and saved her medially at the scene of the accident. He didn't admit to Cat what he saw, but going to J.T. at the end showed how concerned he was about the creature and her safety. If he's still in the diagnostic phase, at least he's not out to kill it. Did we know J.T. wrote a book on DNA cross mutilation? I loved how he tried to play it off on cashing in on Dolly the sheep. Not so fast!

The good thing about a possible partnership with J.T. is that he could talk Evan off the ledge of the more drastic theories he might posture, and steer him toward what he actually knows about Vincent. I'm still getting a good vibe about Evan being involved, but I think if he does realize who the subject is and his connection to Cat, his acceptance will be with reluctance. He'll want an arm's length approach and will distrust Vincent immensely until he proves himself.

That's where I stand this week. Deep in the weeds of a fool's paradise. I know you'll have a lot to get out. What color are YOU seeing? In the meantime, we've started tracking the music from each episode (never a letdown - well done!) so check out the Beauty and the Beast music section.

Seeing Red Review

Editor Rating: 4.3 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 (120 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 1 Episode 10 Quotes

It's okay. Vince told me everything. Obviously, that's just what you do when you're someone's handler.

Alex

You didn't lose me. I'm right here. And, I accept all of what you are.

Cat