How quickly Beauty and the Beast has abandoned the animosity motif when dealing with Cat (Kristin Kreuk) and Vincent’s (Jay Ryan) new relationship dynamic. It was almost too good to be true to think that the writers were finally picking a story and sticking with it (which may be this season’s biggest issue). Although just about everyone out there loves to see these two on the same side, it was a nice break to see them struggling for once with how to relate to each other now that they are no longer in love. The concept of ‘can’t everyone just get along’ is a lovely thought in fairly tales, but this version of Beauty and the Beast is anything but that.
In this episode we see Cat go from strong and determined, to apologetic and forgiving. Instead of sticking with her instincts which were screaming that the current state of their relationship rested on Vincent and his recent actions, she caved. I said in my last review that Cat had one thing on her side and that was history, but in reality, the history they share has had a tendency to cloud her judgement. When push comes to shove, she is willing to do whatever is necessary. But even when Vincent’s actions lead to a hostage situation, she’s quick to transfer the blame onto herself in favor of believing that the old Vincent is still around – which in part, he is.
The truth is that Cat’s family may be largely responsible for Vincent and his suffering at the hands of Muirfield both directly and inadvertently. However, Cat is not. Vincent has every reason to be upset about what he’s been put through and now that he’s on the offensive, he wants answers. Cat assuming the responsibility for something she a) knew nothing about, and b) was not a part of, weakens her position and that of her character. The only person that blames her for Vincent’s predicament seems to be Vincent (err, maybe his new girlfriend), ignoring the reality of the situation. Cat has gone to considerable lengths to protect him and is still doing so by enabling him with her sympathy.
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