Well, it was a good episode yet a very disappointing episode, if only because we've probably seen the last of this guy!
I'm upset about this. Like was stated before, I really wanted Vardemus to have his own storyline, his own agenda and to be this unique monster. Not be Mudman Jr. (and he was even addressed as Mudman....Lizzie called him Mudboy!) in disguise. I thought Vardemus brought a unique quality to the show and I was really hoping he'd take Josie to the limit of darkness and be a major player this season. Sadly, this is not the case.
And I have to say, the way that Alaric and Dorian discovered Vardemus' true nature was a bit contrived. I could buy that Dorian ran a DNA test on him, but the fact that when he brought the results to Alaric and Alaric had the DNA test he ran on the blood samples that he got from Malivore right there in the car with him? Yeah, that was just some bullshit right there. Frankly, I kind of felt like they ended the Vardemus storyline one episode too early. They could have extended the mystery with Vardemus and Alaric having a showdown or Josie discovering the truth behind Vardemus and having her own showdown with him. In the end, Mudman Jr. apparently couldn't wait and had to reveal himself now.
In all honesty, I'm disappointed in Mudman Jr. in general. I had high hopes for him but he's now become your garden variety bad guy. Like, really? For once, can we not have a villain brag about his grand plan to the person who can stop him BEFORE he executes it? Him gloating about how he used Josie to empower that trident and how he merely had to cut someone with it in order to transfer his consciousness over to that person.....you just knew that Hope was going to prevent him from touching her with that thing and that he would never do so afterwards, despite his MANY opportunities to do so. Like....seriously.....he had the jump on her in the yard! He could have cut her on her back, her leg, her arm, her neck....anywhere! Every punch he connected with....every kick he successfully delivered.....every grab or push where he made contact....if ALL he had to do was cut her with that stupid glorified fork to succeed in his plan, he had MULTIPLE chances to do it and he failed. HE FUCKING FAILED!!! I can't stand this kind of buffoonery from the villains. I'm glad there's a greater evil out there.
Speaking of which.
The Sphinx makeup and costume was just weird. I really didn't know what to make of it. His eyes looked creepy as shit so I'll give them that. And with him being the Sphinx, I figured he'd be more like the Riddler, throwing out riddles in order for Landon or the others to save themselves from destruction. But that wasn't the case. I will say this though....even though Raf has been relegated to sidekick status, I liked how he was given the chance to have any question he wanted answered....any question at all. And he wasn't selfish about it. He asked how he could save Landon from Malivore! I was fully expecting him to ask about his chances with Hope or something like that. But no....he was worried about his brother. And in the end, he departed with his brother. I hope for a bigger storyline for Raf because he's one of the good guys!
I do like that thanks to the Sphinx, another layer has been added to the overall storyline. It's somewhat similar to TVD when they had that "greater evil" scenario, suggesting that Malivore isn't the only Big Bad that they are now going to face. I wish I could remember the riddle he gave at the end, but whatever is coming, it's looks like it's going to be worse than Malivore and I cannot wait! And it seems those druid people may not be working for Malivore at all but are working for this other power. Could it be Kai? I'd welcome that.
This SimuLandon storyline was rather interesting. I wasn't expecting them to go this way. In all honesty, it was rather convoluted in terms of the explanation they gave for the two Landons (with SimuLandon looking somewhat like Ironman with his glowing chest thingy) but I was impressed that they came up with that at all! And they used it rather well. I couldn't help but wonder if they took a page out of the Buffy playbook because this sort of reminded me of when Xander got struck by some magical object and split into two Xanders, the "winner" Xander and the "loser" Xander.
It would only be years later that I would find out that there were no special effects used to create the two Xanders but rather it was Nicolas Brendon's twin brother that portrayed the other Xander! I don't think it was the case here with Landon but it did remind me somewhat of that episode. I thought it brought up a rather interesting question: can you really trust your subconscious to accurately portray what you really want? With SimuLandon going on and on about how much he wants Hope and he was practically acting like an excited puppy around her, I find it hard to believe that he could brush off whatever feelings he may have had for Josie so easily. You can't tell me that he felt nothing for her! I'd understand why Josie would be so hurt by SimuLandon's behaviour since he didn't seem to hesitate for one minute in hunting down Hope and expressing his love for her. But I agree with Landon that humans are much more complex and it's not all about the subconscious. Still, it's hard to argue that Landon doesn't want Josie and instead wants Hope in the end.
I had completely forgotten about SimuLandon when Mudman Jr. and Hope were fighting so they got me....they really got me! I was fully expecting Mudman Jr. to possess Landon and how that would throw a wrench in the works but they threw a different wrench. Now, Clarke possesses SimuLandon....BUT....SimuLandon has Hope's blood in him! Tribrid blood! So I give them a lot of credit in terms of building everything up to this point and putting all the pieces in place. Very well done!
And I give Hope credit for being able to dupe Mudman Jr. by using his own Illusion Ring against him, although I do wonder how she was able to master using it so quickly. Nevertheless, it was a good ruse. So now Hope has made up with Josie and is back at the school. Like Jenzy had pointed out, I suppose this means that Hope is no longer living on the streets? Or living at the shelter? Or living in an abandoned house? Because where has she been living all this time? You know what? She should be living at the Mikaelson Mansion! That thing is still there, right? Why is she not living there? That's her birthright. They missed a golden opportunity right there by not having Hope crash at her family's mansion.
Speaking of the past, I also liked the various references to TVD and TO. When Landon says "Hello, brother," an obvious nod to Damon and Stefan. And the Cursed Shackles....I remember those from The Originals. I'm not surprised that The Armoury had a pair, and it's rather fitting if not ironic that they should be used on Hope considering that it was under her uncle, Kol's, guidance that the original Cursed Shackles were created to inhibit a witch from using her magic.
So overall, I liked the episode because it had various twists and turns that I wasn't expecting. We now have a new villain that will come onto the scene and one that I hope is more competent than the Mudmen Family has been. I do wonder though......is SimuLandon everything that Landon is? Is he a phoenix? If so, can he really die? And if not, if Clarke were to kill SimuLandon via suicide, would he turn into a vampire considering he has Hope's blood in him?
I guess we'll see.
