Beauty and the Beast (1987) S1 E5

## Plot

It's Halloween, and Catherine and her father are going to a costume party. She's late because she had a long day at work, and she tells her dad that she lost track of time every morning when she worked for him. He thinks he'll have to wait an hour and a half for her to shower, get dressed, and put her makeup on, but she says that was the old Cathy, and she'll be ready in 15 minutes. Everyone in the World Below is also celebrating, and the kids leave to carve jack-o-lanterns after Father tells them a sad story. He wants Vincent to reconsider going above in plain sight, even though it's Halloween. Vincent wants to meet the Irish author Brigit O'Donnell, because her words have opened up doors for him, and let some light in on the dark places. She wrote the book 300 Days. It's basically *Romeo and Juliet* set in modern day (i.e. 1980s) Ireland, but if Juliet had lived and the feud never ended, which makes it even sadder than *West Side Story*. Father doesn't want Vincent to be disappointed in case Brigit is different than what he thinks. However, Vincent is sure that even though they're very different, they'll understand each other. Cathy wasn't done in 15 minutes, or even close to it, but her father agrees that it was worth waiting for. I want a costume like that. Her father has hardly seen her since she left the firm. Brigit O'Donnell is going to be at the party. Charles says Cathy reminds him of her mother, who died a long time ago. He hopes she'll be able to find someone someday that she can love just as much. An impatient man enters a costume store while it's closing. He needs a costume, and he has a lot of money. The owner doesn't have a lot left, and offers him what looks like an old fashioned army uniform, which he gets angry at. He takes an oversized clown costume instead. While he's changing, we the audience see that he has a gun. Brigit O'Donnell is also an Irish peace activist, and she's going to a masquerade ball. Catherine and Charles meet her, and her bodyguard Thomas. Catherine read one of her children's stories about an owl woman last year. Vincent gave it to her. She sees him enter, but loses sight of him in the crowd. She heads out to the balcony. He's inside, and Brigit sees him staring at her. They talk, and head outside, right when Catherine is heading in. She meets a man in a pirate costume named Donald. He gave a man ten dollars to tell him what Brigit was wearing. The thing is, both she and Catherine are wearing owl masks. She agrees to dance with him. Brigit has thought about leaving her town, Derry, due to the violence, but she's still her father's daughter and her husband Ian's widow. 300 Days is about their relationship. It's been two years since he got into a car, and she's thought about him ever since. It hurts, but it's a sweet pain. They once lived six streets apart, but it was like they were in different worlds. They fell in love, but neither could live in the other's world. They tried to create a new one, but then Ian died. Oh. It's clear now that Vincent sees their relationship as a parallel to his and Catherine's. Brigit says it could've been her, and there are times where she wishes it had been. The man in the clown costume enters, but he can't be admitted without an invitation. He has an Irish accent. Instead, he sneaks past the bouncer when a crowd of guests arrive. Well that was stupidly easy. Brigit's father kicked her out three years ago, after finding out about her relationship with Ian. She hasn't seen him since. Despite everything, she can't hate him. She wants to get away from her bodyguards for a few hours and explore the city. Vincent gives her his cloak. Catherine sees her and follows her, thinking she's Vincent, and Donald follows her, and the clown man follows them. Catherine and Donald see that it's Brigit, and she takes the elevator without them. Catherine says something strange is going on, and she's going to find out what. The clown man refuses to hold the other elevator for her. Catherine tries to give Donald the slip, but he says they can take the stairs. Meanwhile, Vincent jumps off the balcony, and meets Brigit outside. They go for a walk, and the clown man follows them. Catherine asks the doorman where Brigit went, and she learns that Vincent went with her into the park. She has to go after them, and tells Donald it's a personal thing. He refuses to let her go alone though, and points out that as they're arguing, Brigit and Vincent are getting away. Both Donald and Brigit can tell that their companions have a special person on their minds. Surprisingly, Brigit tells Vincent to forget Catherine, because they'd both be happier for it. Vincent points out that she wrote that the price of her and Ian's love had been high, but she'd pay it until the end of her days. Suddenly, Vincent hears the man following them, who takes out his gun. He attacks him, and Catherine and Donald find him unconscious. Catherine sees Vincent and Brigit. Vincent leaves, and Brigit joins them. She recognizes the man as Michael McFaye. Donald confiscates his gun, and reveals that he's actually with Interpol. They received a tip that an attempt would be made on Brigit's life. He was supposed to stay close by her, but confused her with Cathy due to the owl masks. Catherine tells him that she's seeing this through, because she's with the District Attorney's office. In the World Below, Father talks to Vincent. During his first few nights in the tunnels, he'd sometimes lie awake at night, wondering if he'd done the right thing. He was so full of anger, but he never went back again. If he had, his anger would've consumed him. In Donald's car, Michael comes to. He says he'd never hurt Brigit, and says it was her father Sean O'Reilly who sent him. He's dying, and wants to see her again before he goes. He was after the man she was with. He thought he was a murdering Orange man, who was sent to kill Sean, and they don't exactly like her either. Michael was supposed to keep her safe and bring her to her father. In reality, Donald is the bad guy. I saw that coming the moment the camera focused on him. Still, other than that it's a good twist. He points the gun at them and reveals his Irish accent. Vincent feels that Catherine's in danger. Donald is angry at the Croppies for killing William Harland while he was drunk and leaving a pub, but Michael says that was no worse than what he did. Stupid killing rivalry between the Croppies and the Orangemen. Brigit tells Catherine that you can't talk sense into any of them. Donald's real name is Jamie Harland. William was his brother. Three men killed him. Jamie killed the first one a year ago. The second was Michael, and the third was Sean. He shoots and kills Michael, and sees that Sean is staying at the Brandon Hotel. Brigit, Catherine, and Jamie enter his room. Jamie is going to kill him… after he kills Brigit. Catherine throws a glass at him, and tries to grab the gun. It lands on the bed. Sean grabs it, and plans to shoot and kill Jamie. However, Brigit tells him not to. Orangemen like Jamie and William may have killed her mother, but Croppies like Sean and Michael killed Ian. It's a vicious, never-ending cycle of hatred and revenge. Brigit says it has to stop, and if he's so determined to kill, then what's one more body? She outright encourages him to shoot her, but he can't bring himself to do it. And then Jamie takes her hostage with a sword. Yes, seriously. Is that thing even real? If it is, then how'd he get past the bouncer? Before he can leave, Vincent attacks him, and leaves through the window as quickly as he came. Sean is taken to a hospital, Jamie is taken away in handcuffs, and Catherine sees Vincent on the roof. Brigit will stay with her father at the hospital, and knows he'll have to be arrested. They won't have much time together, not even three hundred days, but they must take what they're given, whether it's a few months or a single night. She and Catherine hug. Vincent and Catherine spend the rest of the night together and watch the sunrise. He's seen so much of the darkness of her world. She wanted to show him that there's light too. He already knew that though, from the moment he first saw her. Aw! However, Vincent leaves when an early morning jogger tells him that Halloween was yesterday. Dang it! I wanted them to kiss!

## Review

I liked this episode. I want to read a story about an owl woman now, because I like owls. If you didn't understand the history behind this episode, that's okay. I'll try to explain it as best I can, especially since, despite being part Irish, that doesn't mean I can automatically understand Irish accents. I bet you could learn more by asking Jacksepticeye or something. You see, Ian, William, and Jamie belonged to the Orange Order, a Protestant political society in Northern Ireland, and Brigit, Sean, and Michael were descendants of Croppies, Irish rebels fighting for independence from Great Britain in 1798. As Catherine pointed out in the episode, that was over two hundred years ago, but you'd be surprised how long members of certain groups can hold grudges against each other. Does anybody remember the Crusades? Christians vs. Muslims? Anybody? Also, Northern Ireland is still a part of the U.K. today, so there's that. I loved the symbolism and/or double meaning of masks and disguises throughout the episode. It's Halloween, so everyone except Vincent is dressed up, but most of the other characters think he's wearing a costume too. He and Catherine are basically the only characters to fully tell the truth and wear their hearts on their sleeves, and are pure in their intentions from beginning to end. Michael and Jamie's true intentions are unknown to both the other characters and the audience for much of the episode, and they both dress up. Brigit also briefly disguises herself as Vincent by using his cloak to explore the city.