Book Review - "The Elite" by Kiera Cass

Wowwww. That's all I can say after reading this book. Never have I been so elated, nervous, excited, and embarrassed by a book before. I think that's one of my favorite things about Cass' writing is she has the ability to make you feel exactly what America feels, including being embarrassed for her.

In this book things start of going well between Maxon and America. So well in fact that he throws a Halloween ball for her. He plans on proposing to her and ending the Selection, but things never go quite so easily. Marlee has a major secret revealed which comes between America and Maxon. Maxon is driven to another one of the Elite which only drives the wedge further between our estranged couple. Of course America turns to Aspen in secret which drives me crazy. Things with the rebels only worsen as does the stress of the competition.

The girls are assigned a project which they will present to all of Illea on the Report and in anger, America chooses abolishing the caste system. Needless to say this does not sit well with the King and Maxon ends up taking a beating for her. It is made very clear that the King does not approve of America and she is nearly sent home for her choice.


I love this book and this series for that matter. I can't wait to keep reading to find out what happens between Maxon and America.



Overall, I give this book 5 stars and say it is a MUST READ!

Once Upon A Time Recap - "Heart of Gold" (S04E18)

Holy plot twist batman!!!! I don't think anyone saw that one coming.

This episode was pretty Robin Hood centric so we finally got to see what has become of him, Marian, and Roland after leaving Storybrooke.

Emma, Snow, and Charming chase the Author, but fail to catch him. Snow confesses that they know the Author and he is the one who put them on the path to what they did. Emma is still furious and exclaims that it isn't an excuse for what they did and lying about it. They swear they didn't know exactly what would happen, but Emma doesn't want to hear it- she just wants to find the Author before Gold does. The Author snaps a tree branch and tries to make a pen, but Rumple appears and informs him that he knows he needs enchanted wood to make the pen, and he won't find any of that in Storybrooke. The Author panics and Rumple shows him a pen he can use and tells him that he can only have it if he writes a few happy endings. The Author clearly doesn't want to work with Rumple as he says he had the displeasure of writing him. He ultimately agrees and goes along with it and the two disappear.

Regina awakens after Rumple knocked her out, only to find that she has been handcuffed. Naturally she is furious at Gold and they argue. He shows a piece of paper that he found in her pocket and he knows it is Robin Hoods. He wonders if they've talked and he can tell they haven't, so he releases her hands and gives her the paper and his phone telling her to call.

We flash back to Robin, Marian, and Roland crossing the town line and going to New York. When they arrive in New York, things are quite a shock for them. Roland complains about the noise and Robin struggles to decipher the map to Neal's old apartment. Apparently Regina gave him the key and said he could stay there. Marian goes to pick Roland up and sets her purse down, and it is stolen by a thief of a bike. Not one to let him woman be robbed, Robin Hood (aka the greatest thief ever) chases down the robber and even jumps a horse to do so. He tackles him in a park and nearly punches him before yelling at him that he has no honor. Eventually they find the apartment and get another surprise- Mr. Gold walking through the front door and wondering what they're doing there. Naturally an argument over the apartment ensues until Gold collapses while grabbing his chest.

Back in the Sherwood Forest we find Robin and Marian working at their own tavern. Apparently he has given up being a thief, even though he is the best at it, until the sheriff comes and tells him his taxes are overdue. Robin has 2 days to pay or he'll lose the tavern. Rumple comes to him and says he has been looking for the best thief in the land and everyone has pointed him to Robin. He offers him a deal: if Robin steals a potion for the heart from Oz for Rumple, then Rumple will give him gold straw. Robin accepts and is sent to Oz where he runs into Will the Knave of Hearts.

Robin waits in the hospital until Gold wakes up. He tells him that the doctors say he has had a heart attack but he knows it's because his heart is so dark. He says that even though there is no magic in this world, but if there is a magical item in the world they can use it. He asks Robin to get him the heart potion from Walt's shop (Walt was a flying monkey that Zelena sent into this world to keep tabs on Emma). Robin goes to Walt's old furniture shop, Wizard of Oak, and breaks in accidentally setting off the alarm. He searches and finds the potion, and breaks out as the cops arrive. He tells Marian what he did and she is furious that he is risking everything for Gold. Robin says he has to because it's his code.

Will helps Robin disguise himself as a guard and he sneaks into the palace in Emerald City. He finds the potion and steals some until the Wicked Witch catches him. She wants to know why Rumple sent him. He aims a bow at her and she scoffs at him. He shoots and hits one of the towers, filling the room with smoke before escaping. He meets up with Will and he apologizes saying that he didn't get the potion- he has assumed Will was going to steal it from him. Will says it's ok and that he had wanted to take it so he could move past his sister's death. Robin feels guilty and slips him the potion when they hug goodbye.

Robin gives Rumple the potion and demands he leave them alone and let them have the apartment which he agrees to. Robin leaves and Rumple takes the potion and is angry when it doesn't work. Marian shows up and reveals that she switched the potion and what he took wouldn't do anything. Rumple is confused and Marian shows a necklace she wears and it glows green and she turns into Zelena. Rumple (and I) were in pure shock! He killed her!! She reveals that her spirit left her body right before he shattered it, and when Marian nearly died she actually did die and Zelena took over her body, enchanting the necklace so her true identity would be hidden. She says how bored she has been playing Marian, but she loves how much it's hurting Regina to not be with Robin. She is keeping Regina from getting her happily ever after. She demands that Rumple force the Author to give her a happy ending as well or she'd let him die right there. He reluctantly agrees and she gives him the real potion and resumes her charade as Marian.

Robin tells Marian that he wants to steal from the rich and give to the poor. He robs the sheriff and gives the money to the townsfolk. He said he learned on his trip that when you steal for yourself you're a thief, but when you steal for others you're a hero. He wants to be a hero and she wants to join him. He gives her a necklace that he stole from Oz, the 6 leaf clover, and she promises to always wear it.

"Marian" finds Regina's contact info on Robin's cell phone and tells him he should go be with her. He said he chose Marian and their family and he is going to honor that and they're going to get back to being each other's happy endings. They kiss and in the mirror the audience sees Zelena.

In present day, Regina calls Robin's phone and is utterly shocked when Zelena answers. Zelena is delighted by this and shares how much she's enjoying being Robin's wife and that she'll see Regina soon. They hang up and Regina is furious with Gold. He admits that he does have affections for her but even they have limits. He comes first. Gold asks her who she is going to pick, and Regina furiously tells him that he turned her into a monster and she won't let him do the same thing to Emma. He coldly asks her, so you chose the Savior over Robin Hood, to which she gives a smirk.

Well there you have it folks, we have not seen the last of the Wicked Witch of the West aka Zelena!!








Original air date 4/12/14

Once Upon A Time Recap - "Best Laid Plans" (S01E17)

Well now we know exactly what Snow and Charming did to Maleficient's baby. They track down a unicorn and touch it's horn, because according to legend it will give you a vision. They both see their baby's future but they see it differently. Charming sees a sweet little baby. Snow however sees a teenage Emma who rips her heart out and when Snow says "I'm you're mother, 'Emma' responds with "I don't care." Of course Snow is terrified and they decide they need to do something. On their way home, Snow and Charming cross paths with a peddler who needs some help with his wagon. Charming helps him and gives him some brandy because he is cold. The peddler asks which way they are going and when they say west he tells them that Maleficent has taken over and made a nest in a cave where she has laid an egg. He advises they go east and follow the path to an old man's cottage. The Charmings take his advice.

Regina, Henry, and Emma take August to the Blue Fairy when he passes out. They are all worried for him. Regina says she needs to get back to Gold with the page, so Emma makes a replica. Regina says he'll see right through that so she takes a picture of the page because the villains are only looking for the door- they don't know the Author is inside the page. Regina takes a picture and returns to Gold, Cruella, and Maleficent. She claims Emma put a protection spell on the page and she was almost caught trying to break it so she took a picture. The glare in the picture tells Rumple that the Author is in the page. He tells Regina she has to get it.

Emma and Killian talk and he is jealous of her relationship with August. She insists that they're just friends. She brings up Lily, the friend in the video she showed him, and tells him that she was her first friend and after she shut Lily out, August was the first person to get back in as a friend. She's not very good at making them. They look out the window and are put under a sleeping curse. The entire town is in fact. The only people who aren't affected are Gold, Mal, Cruella, Regina, Henry, Snow, and Charming- the latter 3 because they have been under sleeping curses before so they're immune (in that case, where the hell was Aurora?!). Henry flees to the Sorcerer's mansion while the Villains search the Charming's apartment for the book. As they walk, Mal tells Gold they are going to make a new deal. She knows he needs her, and Cruella and Ursala were just a means to bringing her back. She demands to know what happened to her child and Gold agrees if she gets the page. Regina scolds Cruella for remarking that she'd like to wring Emma's neck which causes Gold to doubt her. He tells her the book isn't there and to get it from Henry.

Snow and Charming come across the cottage where the old man (the Sorcerer) is waiting for them. He knows of their troubles and invites them in to have tea. They tell him about their different visions and he tells them it's because a child is a blank slate and can go either way based on how they are guided. Snow doesn't think this is enough and wants to make sure their child is good. The Sorcerer says there is a spell that he can do, but it is very costly and can never be undone. He could take their child's evil and put it into an empty vessel making the child pure of intent and good. Snow and Charming talk it over and decide they couldn't do that to a child, but they could do it to Mal's egg who would probably turn out just like her (sidenote-  if that were true then they shouldn't have had anything to worry about with their own baby). They find Mal's cave and steal her egg while Mal begs and pleads with them not to. Snow promises to bring the egg back.

Henry calls Snow and Charming and tells them where he is going. They tell him not to worry and they're on their way. David tells Mary Margaret that it would solve their problems if they destroy the page, even though the Author is inside. Mary Margaret worries about what would happen to Regina's happy ending. Henry hides in the mansion and a light shines out from the door on the page. The light shines on a desk drawer so Henry opens it and finds a key. He stuffs it in his pocket as Regina walks in. She tells him she needs the page as Mal and Cruella walk in as well. She warns them not to lay a hand on her son and they insist they won't if he cooperates. Regina tells him to give her the page and she gives him a look. Henry reluctantly hands it over and watches as they leave.

Snow and Charming bring Mal's egg to the Sorcerer. He makes sure they're ready and then performs the spell. When the spell is being done, they realize that the egg will be sent somewhere else. When they confront the Sorcerer, he tells them that it has to be sent to a place where it can't hurt people. As this is happen, the egg begins to crack and a baby's hand reaches out. Snow is horrified as they realize that there is a baby in the egg. Cruella and Ursala show up and try to get the egg for Mal, but they fall through the portal followed by the egg.

Gold goes into his shop and moves a passed out Belle to a bed. He tells her he loves her and he is trying to change the rules so he can repay the debt he racked up with all of his magic. He tells her he'll be back for her if he can. The Queens arrive outside of the shop and Regina gives Gold the page. He instantly knows it's fake and rips it up. He says he has been waiting for this time to come. Mal puts her under the sleeping spell. When David and Mary Margaret arrive, Henry tells his grandparents what happened and that he gave his mom the forged page. They are proud of him. He shows them the key, and goes to unlock the door but David makes him stop. He lies and says they will take care of it and it's too dangerous for Henry. After yelling at Henry, the boy leaves and David prepares to burn the page until Mary Margaret stops him. She reminds him that they are heroes and they have to do what is right, not what is easy. They have to tell Emma the truth so they don't let their lies push her to the dark side.

Snow watches Sneezy put up a beautiful glass mobile of unicorns over Emma's crib and she is upset. Charming comforts her and reminds her that they have to accept what they did and move past it so they can raise Emma to be good- which is the whole reason they've done all of this. Snow agrees and they embrace.

After finding out the truth from her parents, Emma is furious. She tries to leave and Snow tries to stop her saying "I'm your mother!" and Emma looks at her coldly and replies, "I don't care." She sits by the water until Killian finds her. She knows her parents sent him, but she doesn't care. He holds her and comforts her before telling her that her friend August is awake. She goes to see him.

Gold and the Queens take Regina to her lair and Mal insists he tells her what happened to her child- that she has earned the right to know. Gold agrees that she has, but warns her it could cause her more pain. She says she needs to know anyways. He warns her that what he is going to show her was from 30 years ago, so things have changed. He shows her an image of an infant baby girl as she's being adopted. Her father names her Lily. Mal is over joyed and teary eyes as she exclaims that she had a daughter who is alive and in this world. She swears she will find her. (notice this is the Lily that Emma met as a teenager and who was her only best friend).

Emma rushes in to see August and finds her parents there as well. August senses the tension but no one talks about it. She tells him that they can free the Author and August warns her that it might not be a good idea. He says that the Sorcerer and his Apprentice have always chosen the Author to watch and record the greatest stories that have ever happened, but this Author began manipulating the stories (it's cut to the Sorcerer scolding the Author from behind about making him perform the spell on that poor baby. The Author calmly replies that it makes for a better story and the Sorcerer says he isn't fit to do this job and responsibility) so the Sorcerer imprisoned him in the page. Emma decides to let him out so she unlocks the door and out comes the peddler. It takes a minute but Snow and Charming recognize him. Emma tells him she has questions and he says she probably does before he runs off leaving them confused.

**sidenote: when August was explaining to Emma that Authors have been recording stories for eons and it's a very important job. He goes through a quick timeline of stories/authors and mentions Walt aka Walt Disney.

Original air date 3/29/15

Once Upon A Time Recap - "Poor Unfortunate Soul" (S04E16)

This episode revealed how Ursula became a villain. It starts with Captain Hook on the Jolly Rodger back in the days when he was working for Peter Pan. They hear a mermaid's song and nearly crash the ship into rocks. The mermaid stops singing just in time for the pirates to save the ship. It turns out the mermaid was Ursula. She is scolded by her father Poseidon, for not bringing the pirates to their death. Apparently her mother was killed by pirates and he is all about revenge. Ursula, on the other hand, wants to use her voice for good as her mother had encouraged. Her mom had taught her how to sing so her voice was all she had to keep her mother's memory alive. Her father gave her an ultimatum, so she went on land to live as a human.

After getting no where with August, Rumple forces him to take a potion that would kind of return him to his original state, i.e. his nose will grow if he lies. He knows Regina has the drawing with the door on it from the storybook, and when asked about it Regina informs everyone that she has already given it to Henry. Rumple questions August about the door and about the Author. As his nose gets dangerously close to the open fire. August informs them that The Sorcerer trapped the Author behind the door, but he doesn't know where the door is. Rumple decides to take Maleficent and Regina to the Sorcerer's mansion to look for the door, leaving Cruella to watch August while Ursula "stretches her tentacles".

Before leaving, Regina sends a message via the fireplace to Snow, Charming, Emma, and Hook that Rumple is back in town and that they turned Pinocchio back into August. Emma is concerned for her friend and they run to tell Belle so she can use the dagger on Rumple. Belle is confused and says she gave it to Hook who has no idea what she's talking about. They realize Rumple tricked her. Hook offers to talk to Ursula and get her to spill what the plan is. He says he is going to take a page out of Emma's book and give her her happy ending. He knows how to, because he's the one who took it. He leaves to find her.

In the flashback, Hook hears Ursula singing in a local tavern and confronts her quietly about being the mermaid. He thanks her for sparing his ship and offers to take her wherever she'd like to go and sing. Ursula is ecstatic. Hook is forced back onto his ship by Poseidon who gives him an enchanted shell and tells him to take Ursula's voice so she will have no choice but to return to the ocean with him. Hook refuses until Poseidon promises his squid ink which will paralyze anything and anyone- including Rumple. Hook considers it, but ultimately tells Ursula what happened. She offers to get the squid ink for him and she is successful.

Present day Hook and Ursula conjure up the Jolly Rodger, only to find that it is now a ship in a bottle. They take it to Belle and Will who help to restore it to proper size. On board, Hook gives Ursula the shell containing her voice, but it doesn't work and she still cannot sing. She says the deal is off and Hook nearly shoots her until she knocks him out with her tentacles and throws him into the ocean.

Emma busts into Rumple's cabin and Snow goes all Tangled on Cruella by hitting her in the back of the head with a frying pan. They free August and he is impressed by Emma and her magic, since she was still doubtful the last time he saw her. Ursula intrudes and wraps Snow by the neck with her tentacle.

Old Hook is about to take the squid ink when Poseidon shows up and tosses it. He yells at Hook and Ursula for trusting someone who is consumed by revenge. Hook freaks out and ultimately takes Ursula's voice. She is devestated and returns to the ocean. Hook refuses to give the shell to Poseidon so he can play hero and threatens to crush it unless Poseidon leave him alone. Poseidon also returns to the ocean and Ursula takes his trident. She transforms herself into a powerful sea witch like the one she was named after and is now more powerful than her own father.

As Hook drowns, he is saved by Ariel. You can tell she's reluctant to do it, but she's a good mermaid. Hook thanks her and she slaps him for almost ruining her happy ending, and thanks him for freeing her from the bottle. She tells him that Blackbeard started upsetting a lot of people with the Jolly Rodger and pissed off some royals in Arendelle who put the ship in the bottle. Hook is amazed that Elsa did that. (loved that Easter egg) He asks Ariel to help him with Ursula.

Hook arrives at the cabin just in time and tells Ursula he knows why it didn't work. The shell needs Poseidon's magic. Poseidon comes in and tells Ursula that a nice young mermaid found him and helped him get there through a portal (thanks Ariel!). He apologizes to her and they share a very sweet moment. He restores her voice and Ursula is so happy. She wants to return to the sea with him and be with her father again. It was really touching.

Hook tells Emma that he almost shot Ursula and she reminds him that he didn't and she got her happy ending because of him. He reminds her that he was also a villain so he is scared of losing his happy ending- Emma.

Ursula keeps good on their bargain and tells Hook that Rumple's plan is to give the villains happy endings and the only way to do that is to make Emma do it. Since she is the Savior, she took away all of the villains happy endings, but by making her evil forever- it will switch and the villains will get happy endings and the heroes won't.

 Cruella catches up with Rumple, Regina, and Maleficent and tells them what happened. Later Regina appears at the Charming's where August is resting. She fills Emma in as she is pretending to get the storybook page. August wakes up and is confused about why Regina is there and she briefly mentions her double life. She asks where the door is and he says he knows but she's confused as to why his nose didn't grow when he was asked earlier. August grins and informs them that he wasn't lying because he didn't know where Henry had the page and that the page is the door. The Author is trapped somewhere in the book.


Original air date 3/22/15

Chasing Life Recap: "Rest In Peace" (S01E18)

April finds out at the hospital that her cancer has not returned and that she is fine. Her mom, Brenna, Grandma Emma, and even Dom are there to support her- just in case. It was really sweet. April is of course (and understandably) freaking out though.

When Brenna comes home she finds Natalie doing her laundry. They talk and Natalie has her try on one of her shirts. Sara comes home an doesn't like what Brenna has on, but she tries to refrain. she asks Brenna to help her get the house ready for the college prep seminar she is hosting that night. At the seminar, Sara becomes concerned when she realizes how far behind Brenna is on the road to getting into a good college. She's shocked that even Ford has a 4.0 GPA and does volunteer work.

April shares her recent scare at her support group and they're all invited to one of the members, Shauna, to her belated bat mitzvah. Leo and April talked and he apologized for his behavior and admits he doesn't know what's going on with him.

During a dinner date with Beth and Graham, he brings up that her doctor said she is 99% sure that April is fine, not 100% sure- way to be a jerk Graham (although he makes up for it later). Now April is really freaking out. She has a sleepless night and calls Dr. H. at 8 AM asking about a bruise on her arm and pretending that she's fine. Her doctor suggests that she try anti-anxiety meds, medical pot, religion, or anything to help focus and help her anxiety.

At the bat mitzvah, April and Meg (a sweet girl from her support group) talk about maybe believeing in God and April talks with the rabbi as she is now considering being religious. Shauna gives her a pot cookie and tells her she needs to calm down, but she understands what she is going through. Later while April is listening to Beth talk about work, April gets an email from Meg saying she got her blood work back and her cancer has returned. This really shakes April. She had just been with Meg who seemed fine and now out of the blue she could lose her life. Beth tells April they're going to Dom's book signing and they're going to find out who is mystery girl is and take her mind off of things. When Beth steps away, April takes a bite of the cookie.

Sara catches Natalie and Brenna leaving and says she is going out to dinner with them. The three of them, plus Emma, go out to dinner and it's a little tense. It happens to be trivia night in the restaurant and Sara is getting more and more concerned about Brenna. She makes a remark about girls pretending to be stupid when Natalie makes fun of the trivia night and makes a joke about one of the questions.

April and Beth see Dominic and hide in the aisle as April confesses about the cookie. Beth tells her that she has to eat more so April has a few more bites. Graham arrives and Beth gets a call from her boss causing her to leave. April meets Dom's mother who was recently released from prison (April is the only one who knows she was in prison so Dom asks her not to mention anything). He leaves the two of them alone to sign more books as April's high comes on. She eats a bunch of snacks as they talk and bond and April shares her and Dom's checkered past. His mom gives her a Buddhist book that helped her keep her peace of mind in prison. Dom takes April to his place as her high is crashing and he forgives her for sleeping with Leo before she falls asleep.

Natalie comes over to talk to Sara and calls her out for her bitchiness towards Natalie. She tells Sara that she's not her mom and she stayed in Boston to get to know her sisters and learn more about her dad. She reminds her that Brenna isn't Sara either and Sara apologizes to Natalie.

In the morning, she reads a little bit of the book before heading to her group. She hugs Meg and asks how she is doing, and Meg asks the same of April who then informs her that the train Leo was taking to New York that morning crashed and people are dead and they can't get a hold of him. April panics and tries to call him multiple times as she runs home. She runs inside yelling for her mom or someone and sees Leo and her mom talking in the kitchen. She loses it and so did I.

Leo opens up to her about how he feels guilty for living and cheating death time and time again when good people are dying. April is grateful that he opened up to her and promised to support him. They make up.

Sara apologizes to Brenna who informs her that she wants to take a year off after high school and travel. Sara tries to be supportive. Graham asks Beth to move in with him and Dominic sees Natalie in the bookstore and goes in to talk to her.




Original air date 3/2/15

Pretty Little Liars Recap "The Melody Lingers On" (S05E24)

What a stressful episode! Ali's trial begins this week and Mrs. Hastings advises that none of the girls attend. She tells Spencer she isn't allowed to go and advises Aria and Emily follow her lead. Ashley decides she is going to Ali's trial despite Pastor Ted and Hanna telling her not too.

Aria has a weird encounter with Andrew where he basically makes it sound like he's glad Mona is dead which makes Aria uncomfortable, but she shrugs it off. Emily gets a phone call from Ali and they apologize to one another, and Ali asks Emily if it's raining- which it is. Then it flashes to Ali getting ready for her trial.

In the Prosecution's opening statements reveal that Ali's entire story about being kidnapped was a lie (he also mentions that Mona met a cruel and ANONYMOUS end) and the girls knew about it. Needless to say, this takes everyone by surprise. After court adjourns for the day, Emily and Aria call Spencer and tell her about what happened. As they tell her, Mr. DiLaurentis yells at them and accuses them of making Ali lie to the police. Jason stands up for them and says she lied to them too. The girls wonder who else but Cyrus and Mona knew that Ali was lying.

Ali reveals to Hanna that the number in the ad is real even though the password isn't. She says that she saw one after her mother died and responded with one of her own. Then another one appeared, and she texted the number. She thought the person was Mona because the messages stopped when Mona died. Hanna realizes she was texting and never even mentioned it to them.

Caleb visits Hanna and she insists he get out and save himself. She tells him she'll be ok if she knows he's safe. She insists that no one would ever believe their story because it is so insane and she doesn't even believe it and she's living it. The liars and Caleb send a message from a burner phone to Varjack's number. Later on, Aria gets a phone call and Caleb answers it. It's a French song from Edith Piaf and it's creepy. They play it for Hanna who recognizes it from Mona. Aria volunteers to talk to Mrs. Vanderwaal after they decide that Mona probably left more clues in her room that the police didn't find. Emily takes her and Spencer stays behind with Caleb who hilariously compares the group of liars to a group of Vikings, noting how they ferociously take care of one another.  Spencer comments on how great of boyfriend Caleb is and is glad that Toby warned them.

Spencer is told off by Mr. D. and ignored by Jason. She wants to apologize because she knows Ali is innocent. Spencer tries to apologize one more time to Jason and explains that she is only comfortable when she is certain and she bases her moral compass on being certain and she alludes that A had that figured out, that's why she's framed. She tells her mom she is going to the trial anyways and Mrs. H. forbids her. Spencer says she'd rather have people talk about her in front of her than behind her back and she goes with the girls to support Ali.

Jason takes the stand and begins changing his story saying he doesn't think Ali did it so the prosecutor suggests he is changing his story because of his affair with Ashley Marin. He denies it and afterward Ashley tells Ted to leave. She loves him but doesn't think them being together is practical and doesn't believe in clean slates. He isn't going without a fight.

The girls head to Mona's house and are about to leave when they hear the song coming from Mona's room through an open window. They sneak in the house and head upstairs finding Mona's room torn apart and her dolls beheaded. They find a note from A and decide it's a trick. They don't think A found anything in Mona's room so they try to think like Mona. Spencer finds a riddle in Mona's mirror. Andrew sees their car outside Mona's house where he is lurking creepily and as they leave, a tool and broken window are shown.

Andrew runs into Aria at the New Brew and apologizes for his earlier comments about Mona. Aria acts fine, until he kisses her cheek and she offers to text him later. The girls are desperate to solve Mona's riddle. Meanwhile, Hanna and Ashley have a heart to heart and Hanna reassures her that she will be ok, and maybe she'll right a book in prison.

Emily decides to listen to the secrets messages and hears the song play. Also, A starts shredding documents, including a social security card for "Paul Varjack." A dumps the shredded paper into Tippy's cage. (yes Tippy the bird is back!)





Original air date 3/10/15

Pretty Little Liars Recap - "To Plea Or Not To Plea" (S05E23)

Ali is offered a plea deal and her defense attorney thinks she should take it. Her attorney doesn't think she would do well in a trial by a jury even if Ali is telling the truth, because she has lied so much in the past. The plea will get her 15 years in prison as opposed to life, but part of the plea deal is that she has to name her accomplice, who the police depict as Hanna.

Aria and Emily find out from Jason the terms of Ali's plea deal and he lets them know that she is really shaken and considering it. Aria and Emily hope Ali doesn't take it, especially because they know both Ali and Hanna are being framed. Emily says that if Mike testifies for Ali, they would have to believe that she didn't have anything to do with Mona's murder, but Aria disagrees. She points out that if Mike says anything, he'll also be arrested. Emily offers to go talk to Ali and reassure her. A note falls out of Aria's locker and Emily picks it up and asks why Andrew is wishing her luck on a test and asking her dinner. Aria confesses that he's been helping her study and they kissed the other night after he took care of her. She brushes Emily off and goes to take her test. Emily finds out that Ali isn't taking visitors.

Mrs. Hastings stops by and lets Ms. Marin know the terms of Ali's plea deal. She lets Ashley know that the police are building a case against Hanna based on Tanner and Toby running into Hanna and Caleb at the storage unit where they found the barrel of acid/remains. Ashley is in shock. Mrs. H. also lets her know that Hanna has been to see Ali twice. Ashley is furious. Hanna over hears the conversation and sneaks out of the house. She goes to Caleb and hysterically fills him in.

Emily and Aria decide to wait to tell Spencer until after her interview at St. Andrews. In London, Spencer is invited by Colin to go see Hamlet at the theater and after a little prodding, she accepts. She has nothing to wear so Melissa loans her a dress. They bond over sharing clothes and the secrets they kept from one another and promise to never keep secrets from one another again. Melissa says that getting out of Rosewood was the best thing that ever happened to her and she thinks it would be good for Spencer as well.


In prison, Ali returns to her cell only to find it is a complete mess and her things are everywhere. She starts picking up and when she flips the mattress back down onto the bed, she sees "take the plea" written on the wall.

Aria and Ezra have a talk and decide that it would be best if Aria goes to college single and they should break up as it would be easier to do it now rather than later. They love each other and hope to get back together someday. 

Emily fills Ezra in on what's going on and how they're running out of time. She hopes he knows the name Varjack, but he's got nothing. He asks Emily about Mona's attorney. He questions if Mona actually hired the attorney or if someone else did. He pays a visit to James Nealon, the attorney, and pretends to be interested in franchising the New Brew before questioning him about Mona. Nealon asks him to leave and he meets Emily and Aria outside. They see Nealon leaving his office in a hurry and on his phone. They hop in a car and follow him to a gated in property. His car drives through the gate and Aria receives a text from Andrew calling her beautiful and congratulating her on her test. Ezra sees it and asks who Andrew is. Emily runs out of the car and gets inside the gate. Aria and Ezra follow, but don't make it in in time. Emily offers to follow the car while the other two look for a way over the fence. She takes off and Ezra and Aria begin walking. Aria mentions that Andrew has been tutoring her and they split up to cover more ground. Emily finds a pizza receipt with the name Varjack on it in the garbage. It also has a phone number on it. She sees Nealon on his phone inside the house, taking money from a safe and putting it in a bag. He drives off and Emily follows, telling Ezra and Aria what she found.

Back in London, Spencer buys Colin a beer after the show (her first time buying alcohol legally) and they talk before playing a game of darts. They run through the rain on their way home and share a passionate kiss before heading off to their separate beds. So are Spence and Toby officially done?

While Ali is working on her laundry, everyone leaves the room and locks her in. She tries to escape, but she can't. She screams at something and the next day she calls her lawyer. Mrs. H. shows up instead of Rebecca and she notices Ali has a bandage on her arm and abrasions on the other. She can see how shaken Ali is. Ali informs her that she is taking the plea and getting transferred to another prison.

Toby tells Caleb that there is an arrest warrant out for Hanna and the police should be on their way to take her in. Hanna panics and Caleb convinces her that it's time to tell Tanner about A. Hanna refuses at first, since all of the truth would come out- including the Aria killing Shana in self dense incident. Caleb reasons with her and they head to the police station. As they are waiting for Tanner, Hanna's phone is remotely wiped clean and she no longer has any evidence of A. She is taken back to see Tanner.

Caleb calls in Aria and Emily who bring Ezra with them. They call Spencer to let her know what is happening, and she packs to come home immediately. Melissa catches her and tries to stop her and tell her to wait until after her interview, but then the trth comes out- Mrs. H. doesn't have a contact at St. Andrews and Wren has been trying desperately to get Spencer in for an interview. Mrs. H. told Melissa to keep Spencer there because of the terms of Ali's plea bargain. They were afraid that Ali was going to name Spencer as her accomplice. Spencer is furious with her sister and leaves.

Caleb convinces Emily and Aria that if they show Tanner the messages on their phones from A, then she would have to believe Hanna. The girls agree and they pull their phones out, only to see that they are being wiped. They get a text from A that says they should start with a clean slate.

Hanna is arrested because her blood was found on Mona's clothes and she is put in jail. Ali sees her as she is walking to her cell and ends up turning down the plea deal.

Aria and Ezra talk and decide that Aria should start off college single. The also decide that it would be best for them to breakup now rather than later. They hope that one day they can be together again, as they still love each other.





Original air date 3/3/15

Pretty Little Liars Recap: "Pretty Isn't The Point" (S05E21)

The girls search Mike's room for clues and they find a necklace in his gym back that has Morse code on it saying "I'm with you". They are suspicious and assume the necklace is for Ali. 

Hanna hires a pageant coach to ensure that she wins the pageant. Quickly learning that you have to be more than a pretty face to win the grand prize, Hanna turns to Emily for help when she claims that dancing is her talent. 

Emily meets Talia's husband Eric when he comes to work looking for her. She realizes that Talia told him that she was just a one time thing and he believed that he would be with Talia forever. While she's waiting for Hanna, she asks Ashley for advice on what to do. Caleb meets the girls in the dance room and informs them that Hanna's stepsister Kate has signed up for the pageant as well which completely infuriates Hanna. 

 

When she performs her dance with Emily for her coach, she gets infuriated at Kate and ruins her chance. The coach tells Hanna she isn't pageant material and she shouldn't go through with it. Hanna disappears into the hallway and overhears her coach invite Emily to join because she thinks Emily would win. Hanna gets upset and runs away. Emily goes after her but is stopped by Talia. She tells Talia that she and Eric talked and she can't do this with her. She goes after Hanna and tells her that she didn't accept the offer, but that she's going to and she is going to win for Hanna and give her the money for college because that is "what you do when you love someone."

 

Mike interrupts a study session between Aria and Andrew by yelling at his sister accusing her of snooping in his room. Andrew excuses himself and steps outside before Mike flips out on Aria telling her that if she goes in there again she'd regret it. He flips the table before leaving the room and Andrew rushes in seeing a shaken up Aria. She asks Andrew to help keep tabs on Mike and he agrees. Andrew follows Mike into the woods behind Mona's house and sees him leave something in a tree. He tries to find what it was, but he thinks he hears Mike coming back so he leaves.

 

Andrew meets up with Aria at the cupcake shop and tells her what happened. He offers to go back and find out what Mike left and she insists on going. He offers to go with her but Aria declines insiting that she will be fine on her own. He's clearly worried about her staying at the house alone with Mike, but she insists that it will be ok because her dad will be back that night.

 

 

 Spencer finds out that Jonny vandalized Hollis and hadn't been hired to paint the mural. She flips out on him and informs him that she had been arrested for murder and even though the charges were dropped she can't afford to mess up again if she wants to go to college. She reaches out to Melissa, asking if Wren could help her get into Oxford University. Jonny and Spencer make up and go to the college where Toby sees them talking. He's not happy about it and leaves. While Spencer and Jonny are walking down the street, he sees some of his art work from the mural in a gallery window. The gallery owner says that someone brought them by from the school so he owns them and Jonny has no claim to them. When Jonny finds out that one is sold, he decides to get them back. Spencer is determined to help and since he won't let her get her mom involved, she decides to drive his getaway car. She picks the lock for him and brings him cutters for the chains holding up the paintings. While he's getting the last one down, he trips the alarm and the two speed off. While at a gas station, Toby shows up to arrest Jonny. He and Spencer have a heated argument where he tells her to walk away because Tanner is still watching her. She leaves and calls her mom who posts Jonny's bail and kicks him out of the barn. When he returns to the house he tells Spencer what happened and she's upset about him having to leave. After she gives him some packing tape, he kisses her.

Aria goes into the woods behind Mona's house and finds the tree Andrew had told her about. She finds a package in the spot he mentioned and pulls a vile of blood from it. Mike shows up and yells at her causing her to drop the vile and run. She gets in her car and races home, running the house hoping her dad was there. Mike comes in after her and she threatens to call the police if he got any closer to her. Mike tells her the truth about Mona's death. He informs her, that he walked in on Mona taking her own blood and she showed him all of the viles of her own blood that she had been storing. Her plan came from A and she had to fake her death, frame Alison, and then she planned to double cross A when she found out who he/she/they were- then she'd set the record straight and come back and then Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily would be safe and free and Mona would be their hero. Mike was against it and they argued about it but he eventually agreed to keep quiet. Mike was concerned that A had double crossed Mona though because she hadn't shown up to any of their meetings and he visited Ali to see if she knew anything about A or the plan. He broke down crying that the blood was all he had left of Mona and that she had given it to him. Aria held her brother before meeting with her friends to share what he told her.

The girls decide that they need to talk to Ali, and try to figure out what's going on.

















Aired on 2/17/15

Pretty Little Liars Recap: "Out, Damned Spot" (S05E20)

The episode starts with the girls donating blood during a drive that Hanna's mom, Ashley, is putting on. She's upset because no one from the church has shown up and she is grateful to Aria, Hanna, and Spencer for donating. Emily was unable to donate because of the volunteer work she had done in Haiti during the summer. While the girls are talking, a commotion ensues they see Mike getting caught stealing cookies by the refrigerator full of blood. They share their concerns that maybe Mike stole their blood for A which upsets Aria.

Aria is freaking out about school and her grades because she has a grade contingent acceptance to SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), Aria has to improve her grades and make honor roll. While she's studying Mike's phone goes off. She sees that a blocked number is calling so she answers. A recorded message plays asking if she would like to accept a collect call from "Hank Mahoney" at the women's correctional institute. Aria accepts and asks if it's Alison, but the caller hangs up. Aria angrily confronts Mike who flips out and tells her not to answer his phone ever again. She panics while taking a math test and ends up cheating off of Andrew who realizes what she is doing and offers to tutor her. Aria reluctantly accepts his offer and he comes over to her house.

Also having college acceptance anxiety, Spencer decides to take a break and help Jonny with a new project. He takes her to Hollis College where he paints a mural on the roof of a building. He encourages her to help him and to do something she loves not because she's good at it but because she loves it. Spencer helps him and the two of them bond over the mural.

Hanna is doing just fine on her college acceptances but finds out that she has been turned down for financial aid not because of her mom but because her dad makes to much. She finds out that her mom accepted Pastor Tedd's marriage proposal and she also confessed to him about her night with Jason which has led him to think about their relationship. Ashley insists that she will figure out how to pay for Hanna's tuition and tells her daughter not to involve her father. Of course Hanna doesn't listen and she goes to visit her father at his work. During their meeting he expresses that he is proud of Hanna for making it into such good schools and that he had no idea she had even applied to them. Hanna asks him for help paying the tuition. Her father informs her that is "all comes down to dollars and cents" and that he promised his wife Isabel, that he would take care of his stepdaughter Kate going to Dartmouth so he can't help Hanna. Hanna is devastated and storms out.

Emily and Talia go for a bike ride and come upon the spot where Talia had her first kiss. She shares the memory with Emily and the two talk. Emily kisses her and heads back to the New Brew where she casually informs Ezra of Aria's acceptance to SCAD, assuming that he already knew. She sees Talia's file out and wonders why she has a different last name. Ezra then informs her that Talia is married to a man named Eric. Emily leaves and sees Aria's brother Mike withdrawing a large sum of cash from an ATM. She gets a hold of the receipt and rushes over to Aria's. She interrupts Aria's tutoring session and tells Aria what she found.

They see Mike leave in the car and they need a way to follow him. Aria asks Andrew to take them which he does. On the way, he asks why they're following Mike and Emily covers by saying that they think Mike is taking steroids. The end up at a sketchy diner and Andrew (sweetly) offers to go in with them, but Aria and Emily insist that they will be fine and Spencer is on her way so she will be able to take them home. Once they are in the diner, they see Mike and he is approached by a man who Aria believes is Hank Mahoney but Emily informs her that he is actually Cyrus Petrillo (the man Alison paid to pretend he kidnapped her). Spencer gets there and the girls spy on the guys from outside. They wonder why they can't get a hold of Hanna but she tries calling Aria from Ezra's phone and it gets ignored. The three of them get a text from A with a picture of 3 blood viles with Spencer, Aria, and Hanna's names on it thanking them for donating to A's get-into-jail fund. When they look up the guys are gone and they see Mike driving away. They wonder where Cyrus went and they look for him. He rides his motorcycle right at them backing them against a wall. He questions whether they were spying on him or Mike and informs them that he doesn't like being followed. The girls say they know he has something of theirs and just as they're getting ready to make a deal, Andrew shows up with a baseball bat demanding that he leave them alone. Cyrus leaves and Andrew smiles proudly at Aria.

Hanna ends up at the New Brew looking for Emily but she only finds Ezra. He tells her she can talk to him if she needs to and she opens up about what happened to her dad. She confides in Ezra telling him, that she just wanted her dad to tell her "I knew you had it in you." She says she was trying to find out where everyone was but she left her phone at her dad's office and won't go back. After failing to get a hold of Aria on Ezra's phone she decides to go home. Before she leaves Ezra tells her, "I know it's not the same, but I was your English teacher for a while and I always knew you had it in you." [such a sweet moment!]

As she's leaving, Hanna sees a flyer for a beauty pageant where the prize is $20,000 that she can use for tuition. At home Hanna fills out the application and encourages Ashley to fight for the man she loves.
They all meet at Spencer's and try to figure out what A is going to do with their blood. When Spencer leaves to get another blanket, Mike is seen outside one of her windows.

Aired on 2/10/15

Pretty Little Liars - Review

Pretty Little Liars is set in the town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, and it follows the lives of four girls, Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin, Emily Fields, and Spencer Hastings, whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their leader, Alison DiLaurentis. One year later, the estranged friends are reunited as they begin receiving messages from a mysterious figure named "A" after Alison's funeral, who threatens to expose their deepest secrets, including ones they thought only Alison knew. At first, they think it's Alison herself, but after her body is found, the girls realize that someone else is planning on ruining them.

The main cast includes:

• Lucy Hale as Aria Montgomery
• Ashley Benson as Hanna Marin
• Shay Mitchell as Emily Fields
• Troian Bellisario as Spencer Hastings
• Sasha Pieterse as Alison DiLaurentis
• Ian Harding as Ezra Fitz
• Laura Leighton as Ashley Marin
• Holly Marie Combs as Ella Montgomery
• Chad Lowe as Byron Montgomery

Recurring cast includes:

• Janel Parrish as Mona Vanderwaal (promoted to main cast)
• Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers (promoted to main cast)
• Keegan Allen as Toby Cavanaugh (promoted to main cast)
• Lindsey Shaw as Paige McCullers
• Torrey DeVito as Melissa Hastings
• Drew Van Acker as Jason DiLaurentis
• Tamin Sursok as Jenna Marshall
• Nia Peeples as Pam Fields
• Lesley Fera as Veronica Hastings
• Brendan Robinson as Lucas Gottesman
• Brant Daughtery as Noel Kahn
• Julian Morris as Wren Kim
• Cody Christian as Mike Montgomery
• Nolan North as Peter Hastings
• Yani Gellman as Garrett Reynolds
• Bianca Lawson as Maya St. Germain
• Bryce Johnson as Darren Wilden
• Ryan Merriman as Ian Thomas
• Sean Faris as Gabriel Holbrook

Guests include:

• Andrea Parker as Jessica DiLaurentis
• Roark Critchlow as Tom Marin
• Aeriel Miranda as Shana Fring
• Roma Maffia as Linda Tanner
• Vanessa Ray as CeCe Drake
• Ryan Guzman as Jake
• Chuck Hittinger as Sean Ackard
• Luke Kleintank as Travis Hobbs
• Eric Steinberg as Wayne Fields
• Edward Kerr as Ted
• Jim Titus as Barry Maple
• Annabeth Gish as Anne Sullivan
• Paloma Guzman as Jackie Molina
• Chole Bridges as Sydney Driscoll
• Larisa Oleynik as Maggie Cutler
• Sterling Sulieman as Nate St. Germain
• Shane Coffey as Holden Strauss
• Amanda Schull as Meredith Sorenson
• Brandon Jones as Andrew Campbell
• John O'Brien as Carter Hackett
• Miranda Rae Mayo as Talia Sandoval
• Will Bradley as Jonny Raymond
• Reggie Austin as Eddie Lamb
• Diego Boneta as Alex Santiago
• Jim Abele as Kenneth DiLaurentis
• Steve Talley as Zack
• Claire Holt as Samara Cook
• Natalie Hall as Kate Randall
• Teo Briones as Malcolm Cutler
• Meg Foster as Carla Grunwald
• Gregg Sulkin as Wesley Fitzgerald
• Jake Weary as Cyrus Petrillo
• Heather Mazur as Isabel Randall
• Wyatt Nash as Nigel Wright
• Sydney Penny as Leona Vanderwaal
• Nathaniel Buzolic as Dean Stavros

<sup>Overall Rating: a MUST watch (but not alone or in the dark)

Catch Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family Tuesdays at 8 P.M. EST</sup>

Marvel's Agent Carter Recap: "The Iron Ceiling" (S01E05)

In this episode, Peggy decodes a message sent by the mysterious typewriter. It turns out that the message includes coordinates in Russia and suggests that Howard Stark would be there. Chief wants Agent Thompson to go with a team and retrieve Stark. Peggy insists on coming along, but neither of them want her too. She then contacts the 'Howling Commandos' and requests their assistance. When she informs Chief of the Commandos assistance, he allows her to go to Russia.

Peggy is forced to change into her tactical suit in the men's locker room and while she is in there Thompson plays a trick on her and Sousa. He asks Sousa to retrieve something from him on the other side of the room (he had no idea Peggy was in there) and he walks in on her half dressed. She turns around and he sees her bullet wound scars which he recognizes from the picture of the mysterious blonde.

Agents Carter and Thompson head out with 2 other S.S.R. agents to Russia where they meet up with the 'Howling Commandos' who express how much they've missed Peggy. During a talk around the fire, Peggy learns how Agent Thompson received his navy cross during the war and she begins to look at him a little differently. The next day, Agent Carter leads the team into what looks like a warehouse where they find a classroom where a projector is playing a cartoon that is filled with subliminal messaging. As they make their way through the building they find a room full of beds with handcuffs on them. In the room, a little girl is crying and Dum Dum Dugan is stabbed by her. The knife really only gets his vest but she manages to kill Junior before disappearing.

They realize they have to get out of there and on their way to find an exit they run into two men in a cell. One is a scientist and the other a doctor. They show the agents the blueprints they were given by Leviathan's men which are from Stark Enterprises. They were tasked with building the object. Peggy and Thompson free them as they try to make their escape. The four of them end up getting cornered by soldiers, shooting at them. Thompson freezes in a moment of PTSD while the imprisoned scientist holds one of the Commandos hostage- offering him to the Russians. Peggy tries to calm him down but the doctor shoots him. As Peggy fires back at the Russians, the Commandos' burst through the wall to get her and Thompson out of there. Peggy grabs him and tells him to break out of it and focus. They escape-barely- and take the doctor back to the States with them. Peggy says her goodbyes to the Commandos and on the plane ride home she learns even more about Thompson. He tells her that the soldiers he killed were actually coming to surrender and that he buried the white flag before anyone else saw it. He told Peggy about how guilty he felt about what he had done and once they returned to the office, he took her out for a bourbon.

Original air date 2/3/15

Marvel's Agent Carter Recap: "The Blitzkrieg Button" (S01E04)

Ok so in the latest episode, it was revealed that one of the "weapons" that was stolen from Howard Stark is a vile of Steve Rogers AKA Captain America's blood. Howard came back to town and hid in Peggy's apartment, while tasking her with retrieving the vile. He lied to her about it and claimed the object was something that could shut down the entire city if she opened it. Peggy figures out that Jarvis is lying to her about the object, so naturally she opens it after switching it out with a fake one in the SSR lab. Naturally, she is devastated and ends up punching Howard, throwing him out, and telling him that she is done working for him. Peggy keeps the vile and hides it in her room.

 Meanwhile, the new woman on the floor, Dottie, killed the man who sneaked in to kill Peggy- that was a twist NO ONE saw coming. I thought Dottie was this sweet naive girl, but it turns out she's an assassin of some sort. So now Dottie has a revolver, and Peggy has quit her mission.

Also in the episode: the chief heads off to interview a former Nazi and leaves Agent Thompson in charge which went about as great as you'd imagine. He demands they find out where Howard Stark is and Agent Sousa decides to go to the docks to try and get a finger print from the phone that called in the anonymous tip. While he's there, he sees some bums and brings one of them in for questioning. He and Thompson battle it out and eventually get some information from the guy. He tells them he saw a dark haired woman and a well dressed man. In the midst of the interrogation- Sousa opens up to the homeless man about his time in the war while Thompson listens on. Naturally Thompson was cruel and callous with Sousa.

 Peggy runs into Thompson while attempting to sneak out with the vile- and he asks her why she even works there and informs her that women will never have a place other than secretary in the work place. After the chief returns, Sousa looks at the picture of the blond woman and starts coloring her hair in dark. Is he figuring out it's Peggy? Also, the transmitter that the police found starts typing something on the typewriter. I'm afraid that Agent Carter will be mentioned....




(also, Stan Lee was in this episode getting his shoes shined with Howard and Jarvis)

Original air date 1/27/15

Marvel's Agent Carter - Review

Holy cow Batman, there is finally a kick-ass woman in the lead role of a television show!

For anyone who has been living under a rock, I am talking about Marvel's Agent Carter. Peggy Carter is one bad-ass woman, and I am so in awe of her. Finally there is a powerful, witty, independent, and intelligent woman in the lead role of a television show, in the super hero genre no less, and it is actually about her- not a love story. Obviously as with any show, love is involved, but this one is more about lost love and moving on with life.

It's a nice change of pace to have such a positive role model for girls (of all ages). Peggy does not need a man to get by. She isn't a pushover. She isn't a bitch. She stands up for herself and speaks her mind when she needs to and when it's appropriate, and when it's not- she bites her tongue and takes it like a woman. She is a loyal friend, as evidenced by her basically committing treason, and she is smart. You see, there are a lot of female driven shows all over television, but they are filled with love triangles and the men constantly saving the women. Instead, the show brings to light what it was like for women in the work place after the war, and even how far things have come. It makes me so sad how the men in her office treat her- especially because she is just as good/if not better than they are at what they do.

The main cast includes:

• Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
• James D'Arcy as Edwin Jarvis who is Howard Stark's butler and ally to Carter, who will eventually be a tutor to Tony Stark and inspire his J.A.R.V.I.S. artificial intelligence.
• Chad Michael Murray as Jack Thompson who is a war veteran and an agent with the S.S.R.
• Enver Gjokaj as Daniel Sousa who is a war veteran and an agent with the S.S.R. He experiences prejudice due to his crippled leg which allows him to relate to Carter
• Shea Whigham as Roger Dooley who is the S.S.R. chief and oversees agents Carter, Thompson, and Sousa

Recurring cast includes:

•  Kyle Bornheimer as Ray Krzeminski who is an S.S.R. agent
• Ralph Brown as Ivchenko who is Russian psychiatrist working undercover in America for Leviathan
• Alexander Carroll as Yauch who is a young S.S.R. agent Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark who is the father of Tony Stark as well as a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Meagen Fay as Miriam Fry who is the proprietor of The Griffith- the boarding house where Carter and Angie live
• Lyndsy Fonseca as Angie Martinelli who is a waitress and aspiring actress that befriends Carter.
• Bridget Regan as Dottie Underwood who is a small-town girl from Iowa who moves next door to Carter and has a secret

Guests include:

• Lesley Boone as Rose who is a switchboard operator working for the S.S.R.
• Kevin Cotteleer as Alex Doobin who is an S.S.R. scientist
• James Frain as Leet Brannis who is a former operative of Leviathan
• Ralph Garman as the radio announcer
• James Landry Hébert as Sasha Demidov who is a Leviathan operative
• James Austin Kerr as Jonathan "Junior" Juniper who is a member of the 'Howling Commandos' who works with Carter
• Neal McDonough as Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan who is a member of the 'Howling Commandos' who works with Carter
• Devin Ratray as Sheldon McFee who is a truck driver at Daisy Clover who was bribed to aid Brannis
• Walker Roach as the "Captain America" radio actor
• Leonard Roberts as Samuel "Happy Sam" Sawyer who is a member of the 'Howling Commandos' who works with Carter
• Benita Robledo as Carol who is a nurse living in The Griffith with Carter
• Costa Ronin as Anton Vanko who is the co-creator of the arc reactor with Howard Stark
• Richard Short as Percival "Pinky" Pinkerton who is a member of the 'Howling Commandos' who works with Carter
• Erin Torpey as the "Betty Carver" radio actress
• James Urbaniak as Miles Van Ert who is a scientist at Roxxon Oil
• Ray Wise as Hugh Jones who is the President of Roxxon Oil
• Stan Lee cameos in "The Blitzkrieg Button" as a shoeshiner patron
• John Glover cameos in "The Iron Ceiling" as a journalist and friend of Dooley
• Chris Evans appears in "Now is Not the End" as Steve Rogers / Captain America via archive footage from "Captain America: The First Avenger"

Overall Rating: a MUST watch show.









*additional information found on Wikipedia