Although the acting and production were up to their usual high qualities, the episode was unfortunately let down by a series of rather cheap gags more likely to be found in an early episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The unknown wife trope - made excruciating by the fact that she is a model beauty brilliant doctor who just happens to be a blood specialist.
The sudden character inconsistency trope - The strongest character in the whole show who casually and filppantly breaks a sombre life-or-death promise that she made literally moments earlier.
The do anything for the girl in trouble trope - Waverly, the most intelligent character in the group again makes a ridiculous decision to literally and rather lightly sacrifice the whole of humanity AND her sister for her lover, knowing that doing so, she would lose everyone a couple of days later anyway.
The willing sacrifices trope - All the eligible characters are suddenly, unthinkingly and without hesitation willing to submit themselves to incredible, life altering pain and torture for someone neither of them really knows. Even though doing so risks them losing focus on a literally world ending situation.
The unbreakable old cop trope - The gnarly old Nedley is a walking (or in this case sitting, tied-up) caricature of the unflappable, curmudgeonly small town cop suddenly gifted with black ops SEAL veteran level torture resistance techniques, casually resisting earth shattering pain whilst glibly spitting out one-liners.
The stupid f'cking hiding place trope - Just put arguably the most valuable artifact in the whole world in a f'cking coffee mug on a desk in an unlocked office... FFS!!!! WHAHHAHAAAT!
And others.
Lazy script writing filled with cheap, throwaway moments based on overused tropes, all all rather poorly executed.
Trite torture scenes and other worthless moments leading to little actual plot evolution and development build an episode that leaves us basically where we were at the end of the previous episode... minus a ring.
The unknown wife trope - made excruciating by the fact that she is a model beauty brilliant doctor who just happens to be a blood specialist.
The sudden character inconsistency trope - The strongest character in the whole show who casually and filppantly breaks a sombre life-or-death promise that she made literally moments earlier.
The do anything for the girl in trouble trope - Waverly, the most intelligent character in the group again makes a ridiculous decision to literally and rather lightly sacrifice the whole of humanity AND her sister for her lover, knowing that doing so, she would lose everyone a couple of days later anyway.
The willing sacrifices trope - All the eligible characters are suddenly, unthinkingly and without hesitation willing to submit themselves to incredible, life altering pain and torture for someone neither of them really knows. Even though doing so risks them losing focus on a literally world ending situation.
The unbreakable old cop trope - The gnarly old Nedley is a walking (or in this case sitting, tied-up) caricature of the unflappable, curmudgeonly small town cop suddenly gifted with black ops SEAL veteran level torture resistance techniques, casually resisting earth shattering pain whilst glibly spitting out one-liners.
The stupid f'cking hiding place trope - Just put arguably the most valuable artifact in the whole world in a f'cking coffee mug on a desk in an unlocked office... FFS!!!! WHAHHAHAAAT!
And others.
Lazy script writing filled with cheap, throwaway moments based on overused tropes, all all rather poorly executed.
Trite torture scenes and other worthless moments leading to little actual plot evolution and development build an episode that leaves us basically where we were at the end of the previous episode... minus a ring.
