Tag Archives: Haven

Review: Audrey returns to Haven

When we last left the fine folks of Haven–in last week’s “The Old Switcheroo”–Gloria and Dwight had switched bodies, as had Nathan and Duke and Dave and Vince; a situation that had everyone reeling. Nathan had just found out about Duke and Audrey smooching in Colorado, and was rightly POed. Problem was, the man responsible for the Trouble was on the run.

“The Old Switcheroo Too” picked up with Duke and Nathan (still “all Freaky Friday” as Duke/Nathan said) realizing that Mara had been playing the two by acting like Audrey had fought her way to the surface. That cagey chick. Again, I’m thrilled that the producers decided to lighten things up with this Trouble. It’s allowed all of the cast involved in the story to flex some comedic muscles. And while the Dwight/Gloria switch is the best ever, Nathan and Duke have been pretty fun too.

“Your whole body is numb!” Duke marvelled, slapping Nathan’s face repeatedly. “Yeah? I didn’t realize you went … commando,” Nathan grimly observed. (I’d love to know how many takes that scene took to film.) More seriously, though, Duke was getting ready to explode and needed to expel an old Trouble. The two came up with a novel idea: release a reincarnation Trouble that would bring Audrey out of Mara. It was at this point I got a little confused. Not with the idea, but the fact that I sometimes lose track of who’s really speaking. Regardless, the plan sounded good to me.

And the boys were right: Mara had been acting like Audrey as a ploy to escape. Problem was, Nathan was too weak to unleash the Trouble and things looked like they were headed back to same-old, same-old. When Duke said, “I’m sorry that we can’t all find TRUE LOVE like you, Nathan,” I almost slapped my forehead. If Nathan has to jump through this many hoops for true love, maybe he should give it up.

Vince and Dave attempted to right everything down in North Carolina, but the thinny was making it hard for them to reunite the Doohan brothers and reverse the Trouble. After a few tense seconds they managed to save each other from entering the portal and resolved never to go near it again. I have to assume that at some point a thinny will end up sucking in Dave. His “other side” and adoption background is revving up to be one heck of an intriguing story and I’m glad Haven‘s creative team have decided to give the Teagues’ some quality airtime. I was particularly excited about Dave/Vince’s vision of a man running through the forest and carving “Croatoan” into a tree before being touched by an unidentified hand that released black smoke from his eyes.

The Doohan brothers’ reunion reversed the body swap Trouble, opening the door for Duke to release a reincarnation Trouble to rid Audrey of Mara for the last time. Did it work? After a massive flash and sound blast, the answer came in the form of a nekkid Audrey arriving at The Gull. (As if Emily Rose didn’t have enough on her plate, twisting her face and adjusting her voice to play Mara, now it looks like she’ll be going full-Orphan Black by physically playing the two women.)

Meanwhile, the revelation that Dwight’s sister was killed when her Trouble activated in Cincinnati opens the door for his storyline to expand. That’s good news. Like Vince, Dave and Gloria, learning more about Dwight and the supporting citizens of Haven just adds to the show’s appeal.

Haven airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showcase.

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Review: Haven pulls off a “Switcheroo”

After a week away from new episodes of Haven, I was antsy to get to the latest in the Audrey-Mara-Nathan saga … and to see what the heck was hiding under Duke’s ball cap.

The first part of Thursday’s “The Old Switcheroo” delivered on both counts. Duke’s new ‘do is a tidy little swept back mane that really frames his face well. Yes, I am having a little bit of fun at Duke’s expense, but geez, I was wondering what was going on under there.

Meanwhile, the mystery with Vince and Dave continued, with the former investigating “Croatoan,” the word the latter had scratched onto a piece of paper. That led Vince to The Old Croatoan Cafe in Manteo, North Carolina, and I groaned. Would a real-life mystery I hoped would be explored within Haven’s mythology be relegated to a place you could grab a lobster roll and soup of the day?

The answer remains unanswered, though there are hints to a tie between members of the Doohan family and what they have to do with Dave. Things were waylaid a bit by the Trouble of the week, which saw Vince and Dave swap bodies and Gloria and Dwight do the same as both pairs shared secrets that made the Trouble manifest. Jayne Eastwood is hilarious as Haven’s coroner anyway, but it was great to see she and Adam “Edge” Copeland swapping bodies so he could mug for the camera for awhile. That darned Dwight has so many responsibilities that Copeland never gets to show the comic side WWE fans know him for (crotch grab, anyone?). Their back and forth about muscle size, going to the gym and taking on each other’s mannerisms–especially Copeland’s take on Gloria–was a welcome respite from the oh-so-serious stuff regarding Mara.

Speaking of Mara, the battle between she and Audrey is going into extra innings. Audrey bled through during the switcheroo investigation and pleaded with Nathan to keep addressing her as Audrey, something he’s more than willing to do. But it was Duke who had the special connection with Audrey (or was it Mara faking?) this episode, as the two recounted their kiss in Colorado and discussed who pulled away from who first. Unfortunately, that little secret between the two of them caused Nathan and Duke to swap places so Nate learned of the smooch. Not good.

Was Mara faking? Will the thinny claim Dave? Hopefully we’ll find out next week.

Haven airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showcase.

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Review: Getting hinky in Haven

We’re four episodes into this latest season of Haven, and I’m getting a little impatient with the whole changing-Mara-back-to-Audrey thing. Sure, now Duke and Dwight know what Nathan already does–if you talk directly to Audrey she can fight off Mara for a bit–but this storyline has become one-note. As if reading my mind, Dwight admonished Nathan for being a broken record about it. Still, there were a few bright spots in Thursday’s newest, “Much Ado About Mara.”

The good
Duke’s gibberish Trouble
I laughed out loud at lines like “Mousie nudged my smelly belly,” “Froggie leg cream,” “Slip the drink in the pink” and “Delicious taco!” which were all lines of gibberish uttered by our favourite scallywag thanks to the Trouble Mara brought out to ease the pressure on Duke’s body. I wonder how many takes Eric Balfour needed to land those bon mots? I only wish the Trouble had lasted all episode.

Dave’s back story
I’m thrilled that we’re learning more about Dave and Vince this season. Viewers were given more insight into Dave’s past. Yes, he was adopted and is originally from the other side, but by episode’s end we learned something came through the doorway–something evil–and the only hint to what it is came via a time loss and the word “Croatoan” scratched on the therapist’s notepad. Croatoan, for those who don’t know, is part of a real-life mystery: the word was carved into a post on Roanoke Island in 1587 after a British colony there disappeared. The idea a historical mystery may be incorporated into Haven has got me jazzed.

The Troubling
Nathan and Mara
This is getting tedious. Nathan’s blind faith that Audrey can fight off Mara is admirable, but he needs to stop with the constant begging to everyone that Mara be saved from death. I sincerely hope the internal showdown between the two women happens soon … and once and for all. If the producers drag this storyline out all season long I’m going to be upset.

The Guard
I’m all for posturing and over-the-top shows of strength on my sci-fi/fantasy shows, but The Guard is becoming comic in their tough talk. I can only assume that once Audrey wins out over Mara they’ll back the heck off too.

Haven airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showcase.

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Review: Shorn tresses and small troubles in Haven

“I’d rather stab you in the crotch than dance with you.”

“Don’t you have a blowup doll for this?”

Oh, Mara. The super-sarcastic villain of Season 5 who is always quick to cut down poor Nathan and assure him that Audrey is never coming back. Those were just two of the insults the devious dame hurled towards our hero during Thursday’s newest, “Spotlight.” And while the spotlight may literally have referred to Duke’s former female partner-in-crime whose Trouble–getting stressed led to concentrating light through her body and burning stuff and people in the vicinity–but it figuratively meant Nathan and Mara being most of the focus of Episode 3.

The knowledge that Audrey is still alive and buried behind Mara’s psyche had Nathan trucking her off to the family cottage (after some help from Duke) hidden far in the Maine woods away from the police and The Guard who were looking for them both. My initial thought that we would be treated to some kind of an exorcism were in fact mentioned by Mara, but Nathan was just content to sit and mostly let his captive sound off. The mental chess match seemed to go in Mara’s favour when she used her feminine wiles–and Audrey’s memories of the two getting jiggy–to tease Nathan. There was some heavy smooching (it never got to X-rated), just enough to tease Audrey out, who begged Nathan not to give up and to treat Mara as if she was Audrey. It would give her the strength to fight the interloper.

That was working like a charm until Duke showed up to tell Nathan that Dwight and The Guard were on their trail. And then things, story-wise, veered off a bit. Duke–who I think shaved his locks as a final goodbye to Jennifer–started coughing up blood. Mara’s prognosis? Duke was so packed with accumulated Troubles that he was about to explode. She, of course, could help by removing some smaller, less destructive Troubles from him in order to let off some of the pressure inside. The fact Duke and Nathan believed her and cottoned to her plan befuddled me a bit. Why would they trust someone who has brought nothing but pain and sorry to Haven since she set foot in it? Clearly Mara has an ulterior motive, but I guess desperate times call for just such measures. It just rang a little false for me, especially after the emotional butt-kicking Nathan has been handed so far this season.

Haven airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on Showcase.

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Review: Haven says goodbye to fan favourite

Spoiler alert: Jennifer is dead. This wasn’t a surprise for die-hard Haven fans or loyal Twitter followers of actress Emma Lahana and her former co-star Eric Balfour. The duo had traded “miss you’s” on social media earlier this year when cameras began to roll on Season 5. Still, it was a bit of a bummer to have her exit confirmed during Haven‘s two-hour return on Thursday.

The implosion of the lighthouse–the third time that poor thing has been destroyed in five seasons–marked the start of “See No Evil.” Everyone who had been under there when the gateway door closed after sucking in William in the Season 4 finale–Nathan, Duke, Dave, Vince, Dwight, Mara/Audrey (a.k.a. Maudrey) and Jennifer–had been strewn across parts of the town and spent time meeting up again and accessing the damage. No one could find Jennifer and Duke made it his mission during “See No Evil” and the follow-up “Speak No Evil” to find her.

The ultimate realization she was dead–after several other corpses turn up thanks to a Trouble exuded by Duke that sewed up eyelids, ears and mouths as long as he was in denial about Jennifer’s fate–was crushing to the lanky entrepreneur. As a viewer, I was devastated. Lahana’s Jennifer was spunky, sarcastic and fun, the perfect match for Balfour’s Duke. The two made a fantastic couple and I’m going to miss that terribly. Of course, Haven is a sci-fi show and she could come back to life because of some twist in the plot, but I don’ t think that’s in the cards.

Meanwhile, Haven‘s other power couple are having Troubles troubles of their own. Audrey is still inside her body, but Mara is in full control. That’s a major issue for Nathan, who just wants his lady love back. I want them to be together too–five seasons is a long time to drag the relationship out–but I am liking Mara. Sure, she’s cold, bitchy and super-mean to puppy dog Nathan, but she’s also an interesting character. I’m sure actress Emily Rose is having a blast jumping back and forth between playing these gals, softening her features for the seconds Audrey comes through and hardening them for Mara.

Mara’s original plan was to leave Haven through one of several thin areas between dimensions–a popular Stephen King trope I might add–but she has been thwarted so far and is stuck in the town for the time being. In the interim, she’s going to make life hell for Nathan and the townsfolk, while new Guard leader Dwight–who took over for Vince by the end of Thursday’s episodes–figures out how to protect the town from Maudrey’s ongoing menace.

Haven airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on Showcase.

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