Bitten - Bad Blood - Review

Bitten returned for season two with “Bad Blood,” and the show picked up three days after the events of “Ready,” the season one finale. We’re seeing the universe of the werewolves greatly expanded but the episode contained the same break neck pace, terrific action sequences, steamy love scenes – and naked Clay (Greyston Holt) – that we loved so much in the first season. The episode was written by showrunner Daegan Fryklind and directed by Grant Harvey. It’s always good to have such a great showrunner set the stage for the coming season, and many balls are put in play in this episode. Harvey is also a familiar face, having directed last season’s “Prisoner.”

The action picks up three days after Elena (Laura Vandervoort) found Philip’s head and Logan (Michael Xavier) lost Rachel (Genelle Williams) to Malcolm (James McGowan). The entire pack is working to find them both – to save Rachel and the unborn baby and to kill Malcolm. At the same time, the pack is under attack on two fronts. The European alphas are circling Jeremy (Greg Bryk) to lay claim to his North American territory should he falter. The pack is also under attack from an as yet unknown front that uses a mysterious symbol and is conducting hideous experiments in a secret lab. If you’ve been following the spoilers or have read the books, you already know that there are witches.

The episode is bookended by horrific scenes in the super-creepy laboratory. We see Nate Parker (Ryan Kelly) being tortured. He manages to escape and turn into a wolf – did we know he was actually a mutt when we saw him before? Unfortunately, he’s been branded with the odd symbol that keeps appearing throughout the episode and is somehow tied to the witches. As he passes an unseen perimeter, the symbol explodes out of his neck, killing him. We see him later back in the lab being dissected. And at the end of the episode, we see Rachel in the lab, tied down having a gigantic needle thrust into her abdomen.

We see the mark on the group that waylays Elena and Clay. One of them tells says “for the undoing the destroyer comes.” She also says, “we are here for the on true cursed. The werewolf, Malcolm Danvers.” The question is is Malcolm going to cause this undoing? Is her the destroyer? Are the witches trying to prevent something bad from happening by coming after Malcolm. I loved Elena writing off the significance of their brands by calling them “stupid hipsters” though!

Malcolm pauses in the middle of fighting for his life with Jeremy to look at Elena and tell her, “something’s coming for us. Protect yourself.” And later says to Clay, “You need me alive for what’s coming.” Is he trying to protect the pack or just himself and Elena? As always, he clearly knows more than he’s saying.

The witches follow Malcolm, yet they don’t do anything that we see. It’s possible that they set the group on Elena and Clay and later were behind the slaughter at Malcolm’s house, but there’s no real evidence yet that they were more than observers. I thought it was super-creepy when we see their car covered in bees. We also see Ruth (Tammy Isbell) and Paige (Tommie-Amber Pirie) communicating with someone else and talking about an “Alistair” who seems to be a source of fear for all three. Are they being forced to do someone else’s bidding?

It was great to see all the team back in action. Elena is definitely out for blood, but if the sex scene in the hotel is any indication, she’s at least not backing away from Clay. Clay remains as protective of her as ever. And yeah for Greyston Holt for being so happy to go the full monty. I loved how he simply sat back and let Elena take the lead, knowing she needed some kind of catharsis.

He does step in to try to prevent her from killing Meyer (Pat Mastroianni) before they can get more information, however. Elena ripping out Meyer’s tongue was delightfully gruesome, but she does give him the quick death he was goading her into. Clay also tells Elena, “leave the dirty work to me. Just because you already have enough ghosts.” He is trying to protect her because he knows her and he knows it was the guilt of taking lives that drove her away before. But Elena knows Clay too, and she knows that despite what he may say, he has ghosts of his own who weigh on his conscience. Again, one of the things I love about this show it that it depicts Elena as being the men’s equal in every way.

It was fun getting to seen Nick (Steve Lund) using his special skills again and teaming up with Joey (Elias Toufexis). I was really, really disappointed when Nick told him he was “off the clock.” The pack is dwindling, Jeremy! Offer Joey a spot!!! I did think it was a bit convoluted to go to the trouble of planting a tiny camera rather than simply hack the bank records though. It’s clear that Nick is now the next in command as Jeremy only confides in him what the other alphas say. Nick of course, shares it with the others. In fact, Nick seems to have a bit better handle on the rest of the pack even than Jeremy. Nick hides that he knows where Logan is from Jeremy for instance. I don’t think that any of them would challenge Jeremy’s leadership, but it’s setting up an interesting dynamic.

I adored watching Jeremy as alpha. Bryk is simply fantastic in this role. His quiet intensity easily controls the room. I liked how they set up the reveal. It seems that the Russian alpha, Roman Navikev (Daniel Kash) is in charge. He’s accompanied by the Spanish alpha, Rodrigo Sanchez (Salvatore Antonio) and the Korean alpha (Daniel Park). There’s clearly a rivalry between the Spanish and Russian alphas, and I loved when Roman tries to take credit for the Spanish saying, “the fish rots from the head.” Rodrigo does a reasonably good job framing Roman but slips up when he mentions that Rachel is pregnant. It was nice to finally put to rest where Malcolm’s support was coming from last season.

It was nice to really see Jeremy back in charge. I also liked that he pointed out that Rodrigo’s father ruled with his heart, not his fist. There are different styles to leadership, and it’s clear that while Jeremy won’t appear weak and will do what’s necessary, he also does rule with his heart as well. When the pack is all finally back together in Baton Rouge to take out Malcolm, Jeremy lays the law down. When Logan indicates that he still plans to take his son and Rachel away, lose his status and raise his son as a mutt, Jeremy is having none of it. He tells Logan, “Your son is part of my pack. You will bring him to me and I will raise him. This is not a negotiation, Logan. This is the way it’s going to be.” However, Jeremy doesn’t kill Malcolm when Logan asks him not to so that they can find Rachel. The witches clearly lured Logan away. Were they hoping to ensure that Jeremy killed Malcolm for them? I also loved that Jeremy tells Malcolm he’s killing him to avenge Pete, Antonio, and Philip. It felt like he was including Philip as part of the extended pack because of Elena.

Naturally, the pack separates again after the big fight. Clay is going to Toulane to see a professor friend who is an expert on symbology about the mark. He warns Elena not to let Malcolm get into her head while they question him – she has to keep her own wolf leashed. There is a beautiful shot back at Stonehaven of Elena by the damaged wall and the hole in the wall looks like a wolf’s head. Is this symbolic of her own wolf being a damaged hole in her? Is it a warning of what could happen to her if she fully embraces that part of her? Or is it just a symbol of what you get when you peel back the wallpaper of polite society – that veneer that she shows to the world?

The season is off to a great start! The episode flew by and was so jammed with information that it really took a second watch to catch everything. I’m very happy to have this talented cast back on my television screen, and for once, I feel really lucky to be in Canada where the show is airing on Space. Syfy still hasn’t released a date for airing in the US, though April is looking promising. I am happy that I don’t have to review the Space aftershow – the hosts screaming and carrying on was annoying enough just in the commercials! Sorry Morgan and Teddy, I won’t be watching! Do let me know what you thought of “Bad Blood” in the comments below!

About the Author - Lisa Macklem

I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.