All caught up on DC CW shows
I figured I should get my thoughts out there before the big crossover and the mid-season finales. I do have other things I've been watching, but for now I'm only doing reviews of superhero shows, Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-girlfriend don't really call for a ton of discussion as far as I'm concerned.
The Flash 3x04
This continues the trend of bettering episodes...more or less. I still don’t like the way things have been handled up to now, and I have reservations about some things going forward, but this was pretty decent episode. I do not like HR, the show does not need another quirky nerdy happy type, we have enough of those. It is mean of the show to give us back Jesse and Harry and then take them away again. And I don’t really like what’s going on with Caitlyn, though I could still be turned around if the show ever let her be an actual character for more than 10 minutes at a time. This is easily the most I have ever like Barry/Iris, maybe because they’re dealing with a very real issue this couple should have (making out in front of your dad is awkward, making out in front of you girlfriend’s dad is awkward, when they’re the same person super awkward. Especially since when they started making out I was already thinking ‘we’re going to make out on our dad’s couch, we’re not incestuous at all). Wally/Jesse was a lot better than last episode too. The villains were okay, though nothing special, I suspect it was more about reminding us all the Snart exists so he can show up again at some point (they rewrote the timeline, who’s to say he’s still dead especially since it happened outside normal space/time in the first place). Come to think of it, I need to get to watching Supergirl, because now that they’re eon the same network there may be stuff echoed over there from the prime universe, and Snart could be one of them.
Arrow 5x04
That was also a pretty good episode by and large. I even liked the flashbacks more or less, we are definitely finally committing to moving Oliver towards where he was in s1 and that’s good by me even if it’s strange to see now. I feel like Church is a threat for the first half of the season or so, he’s already captured one of the good guys and he doesn’t seem to have a plan that would propel a whole season so he’s likely to be taken out leading to the real big bad. This may even be a season without a true big bad but rotating moderate bads that need to be fought. Although I also wouldn’t be surprised if the Bratva is the big bad, it did seem like the DA might be Bratva which could connect to something bigger. The staging of some of the scene in the lair was very telling, Thea and Quentin aren’t even active members of the team, but they’re still family so they stand next to Felicity and let the junior squad hang out behind them; even more so with Oliver and Felicity at the end. I also feel like the Oliver and Felicity past casts a long shadow over this one, both in what’s said and what isn’t said, and a lot in what’s almost but not quite said. In the way he can’t let John go, putting the pieces of his life back together, in the way Church’s plan probably wouldn’t have worked so well if team mom and dad hadn’t had their own things going on (independent things, but also fighting with each other), in the way they can’t turn to each other the way they once did even before they were together. It’s rough to watch, and so much of it going unspoken is almost harder because so far I don’t know where it’s going.
Also, aerosol spray that destroys anything seems like a terrible idea, just saying.
Legends of Tomorrow 2x03
I liked several of the moments in that one but I’m not sure I liked it on the whole. But I want to start at (or near) the end, Yamashiro must have been Tatsu’s married name right, not her birth family name; and that’s her sword not Maseo’s. I worked out what was probably going on about the same time Ray did (also, Ray is the only one on the Legends team who knew the Yamashiros), but the way the show handled “confirming” it raises whole new questions. I finally picked up that it’s Nate and Amaya (although I won’t swear to the spelling on that), so that’s good. I do love Captain Sara, but I still want Rip back, then they can have captain make-outs. I suspect they’re setting something up with Barry’s message, but I can’t guess what, especially since we know Barry vanishes in a crisis in 2024, we only saw that a couple dozen times in Flash s1. I’m curious what they’re going to do with Ray now, so I suspect they’ll figure out how to restore the ATOM suit within an episode or two, he’s not the ATOM if he doesn’t have a suit, but he probably needs to learn he can still be a hero without it. I find it a little difficult to take that kind of story line with him, because he started as an Arrow character where no one has special powers (to start with I guess Rory does now) so he has to know it’s about more than the power or suit. I do like Mick more this season than I did last season, probably largely because he’s accepted that this is his crew so these are the people he stands beside, and the fact that they’re good people means he’s fighting on the side of good. I just have very little to say on the actual plot of the episode.
The Flash 3x05
I’m not sure if I liked that one or not, it had some moments and the Caitlyn plot was pretty good, but I’m not real sure how I feel about most of it. I like that we’re getting something different with this season’s Wells (or at least current, I’m not convinced he lasts the season), but this doesn’t seem nearly as interesting as what we’ve had before; it’s only interesting in its difference. I like getting something a little different with the threat of the week, but I didn’t actually like the way the plot was resolved. I like that Julian is getting more character, but I wish it didn’t mean he now has to be Barry’s friend apparently; at least with Harry around he was gruff and didn’t always buy Barry’s sunshine and roses attitude and the show really needs some balancing agent for me. Did Eddie exist in this revised world since Iris mentions “Now that I’m falling in love with someone...” or did he exist but was never part of events...except he must have been since everyone still remembers ThWells (which was always weird since Thawne shouldn’t exist if Eddie died). Stop rewriting history until you at least figure out how it works, show.
Arrow 5x05
I’m starting to think I’m just in a meh mood when it comes to this verse. I don’t care about the new characters (I sort of have a soft spot for Rory and don’t count Curtis as a new character), the mayor plot shows moments, but most of them this week it turns out weren’t Oliver so I don’t feel like they count, Oliver and Felicity still make me all melty but I’m not sure the show knows where that’s going. Rene was dragging John into the field of meh even though I wanted to be happy John had stuff to do; and I say I don’t care about Evelyn but that’s mostly because the show has given me nothing to work with. Detective Rebound needs some actual character development if I’m going to see him as any more than a distraction for the show and Felicity in character. The flashbacks continue to be okay, and that’s a step up from at least last year (s3 was meandering and kind of pointless, but there was some heart that keeps from saying yet if this is better) but it’s nothing to write much about. Either all the shows are just kind of meh right now, or they’re hitting me in a meh way, I can’t quite decide which it is.
Legends of Tomorrow 2x04
I kind of think they should have found a way to air that episode as a Halloween one, meaning pre Halloween, and seeing as it’s so close I kind of think maybe it was supposed to be. On the whole I think it was a pretty good episode, I can just feel it wanting to be more as a lot of the character arcs seem pretty subtle until spelled out at the end. Jax’s plot does run through the whole thing, but it’s constrained by being a CW show trying to do ‘12 Years a Slave’; the actor does pretty well with the material but it can only go so far with the setup. Also, I think I ship Mick/Ray, not in the sense that I want to read fic about it because...Mick doesn’t do anything for me, but I definitely got a vibe in that last scene. I have a half backed fic bunny that sometime between episodes Sara found Ray trying to train and being bad at it; he brought up how Oliver always told him he relied on the suit too much as wasn’t much without it; at which point Sara points out Ray was dating Felicity at the time, how did he think Oliver would act? Or something like that. Also I have to question why Sara went in a dress this time, she’s found options that leave her able to fight in the other times this season. I’d have to watch it to get a better read, but I wonder if the direction was just super meh for this one and that’s why very little quite evoked the response they were probably going for. It was still alright, but I still think it could have been better, even within the constraints of a network prime time show like this.
Arrow 5x06
This was a pretty good episode, but I need squee over the Babylon 5 reference, because STILL MY FAVORITE SHOW EVER. Honestly I don’t have a ton to say on the episode, I liked it, maybe better than most of the season so far and not just for the B5 reference. The only thing I’m all that interested in talking about it the relationship stuff and I kind of don’t quite want to talk about that either. There is some definitely bubbling of the relationship issues on the Oliver/Felicity front and the OTA-Expanded Team front. I hadn’t realized how much they were keeping from the new recruits, I figured at least Curtis knew Green Arrow and Arrow were the same person; but that probably means no one has told the babies the Malcolm is both alive part of the extended family (I think Curtis knows from the end of last season though), they probably don’t know the story with Slade and his army, none of them apparently knew Roy was part of this team, I’m not sure they knew Team Arrow is friends with Team Flash, almost certainly don’t know that Oliver’s kinda sorta married to the kinda sorta maybe head of the League of Assassins, etc. I’ve been saying all season that there are levels within the team, and I just assumed the people in the show already realized that because it was pretty obvious, though probably getting worse with Digg back and then to realize just how much they were out of the loop; I get why it stings, but I’m not sure why it was a surprise. When it was just Oliver and Digg at the beginning with Felicity on coms, I could almost feel the return of the Digg eyeroll at Olicity antics that even he’s not part of, it’s back to really old days where I’m not sure they quite realize anymore how much they are a team of two that gradually expands to include the others, but I got a vibe like Digg remembers that it’s been this way for a long time. Felicity telling Detective Rebound she works with the Green Arrow is yet more reason he’s probably going to end up dead soon. Detective Rebound is fine I suppose, but the show is giving us just enough so we care when he dies and nothing more. Reporter lady make me think of an interesting facet that the show hasn’t quite brought up yet; Oliver can’t simply say he’s not moving on from Felicity (whether it’s true or not and I would say true) because officially he’s returned to at least some of his party boy ways, at least Thea’s had to tell people that to explain his absences. He does not seem comfortable with people referring to reporter lady as his new girlfriend, but the only person he straight up tells to stop it is Felicity; if he were the confessing type I’d say he’s half a second away from telling her that just because she’s moving on doesn’t man he is; but he’s a stewer, so he’s just stewing on that fact. I guess I did want to talk relationship stuff.
Legends of Tomorrow 2x05
That was another okay episode that I don’t think I have much to say about. I don’t think this season is doing very well with its overarching plot (come to think of it, that was largely the weakest element of last season too...well besides the Hawks sucking, but that was a connected problm) even if the episodes themselves are fine. And can we at least go to the future at some point, I don’t want time travel shows that just do history; it’s ALL history to time travelers so they should be able to go anywhere. I’m guessing Darhk and Thawne teaming up is going to lead into the impending crossover somehow since now we’ve got elements of all three of the main universe shows. Really I didn’t have much to sink my teeth into on this one.
Supergirl 2x01
So there’s a lot of s1 that I suppose I didn’t absorb fully because I realize there’s a lot times when I couldn’t quite remember names or exactly what happened around certain events. But in general this was off to an okay start, a bit crowded but okay. I don’t really understand what changed Kara’s heart regarding Jimmy though, I think that needed more time; I can deal with her needing to figure out her life balance and deal with some other stuff without wanting a relationship, might still have come to that conclusion too fast but in general it would have worked, but going so far as to decide they should just be friends feels really like the writers just changed their mind and/or forced things back into an unrequited box because god forbid we actually develop a relationship. Alex didn’t really get enough to do in this one for my taste, and the change in location for the DEO set just feels really abrupt and nonsensical and the set feels much more claustrophobic. This is an okay version of Superman though, so that’s a plus, which is good after they clearly had no idea what to do with him in s1.
Supergirl 2x02
That was another pretty good episode, better paced I think than the premier even though it was still doing a lot. I had heard that in all likelihood moving to the CW meant they could no longer afford Flockhart but I’m glad they at least gave her a couple episodes rather than trying to cram it into one or even just suddenly disappearing between seasons. I’m kind of glad I wasn’t watching this when it first aired because I already find it funny that they’re reusing shark symbolism between this and Arrow (I considered noting the swimming analogy in the first ep but since it’s still relevant I’ll just do it here). I do think this is a better superhero teamup than we’ve gotten on the other shows so far, except maybe Barry’s introduction and even that had some issues; but I guess it helps if we don’t just press pause on business as usual for crossover episodes...and I suspect all of this is clearly evident to actual comics readers. I liked it mostly, but I still don’t have a lot to say.
Supergirl 2x03
I have to give this show credit for doing more to establish that ‘not all that is different is bad’ than Flash has ever done. Showing that there are aliens that are just people rather than mostly bad except our heroes who are the rare good Other is something I approve of. Also this show continues to get more and more femslashy, which I approve of in general although I’m not sure how much I’m actually on board with the options offered. I have thoughts on this Wen at the DEO choice that have been brewing and now must be said, that while it is a natural step for his character, it’s not very interesting to me; and it places even less important on Kara’s civilian life, which could work if it was meant to be part of her arc, drawing her further and further away from her connection to humanity, but I’m not sure that’s what I’m supposed to be taking from it. If that is what they’re going for (and I see a case for it, her and Jimmy deciding not to pursue things, Kat leaving, etc.) I think those case bits could have been better handled. I’m hesitant to think I’ll like this version of M’gann as much as the YJ one who I love, largely because they’re pretty much guaranteed to be very different characters, but I’ll try not to dismiss her out of hand.
Supergirl 2x04
To start with the end, totally not a surprise to anyone who watched YJ, since M’gann was always a White Martian posing as a Green Martian posing as human and her story near the beginning was definitely sign posting that that was still true if you knew what you were looking at. I thought they might drag it out an episode or two, but otherwise not at all surprised. As for the rest...it continues to be alright, I probably like it more than Flash this year though I’m having some issues with this whole aliens as oppressed minority thing they’ve got going; it’s not a bad idea I’m just not sure it’s been as well thought out as it should have been (shocking I know for this production team that has no idea how time travel works but keeps telling time travel stories). I guess I don’t have much to say overall, maybe once I’m watching week to week speculating will seem more logical, but for now, I’m just noting a few thoughts as I go.
The Flash 3x06
You know, most of the foreshadowing in this episode was so blatant that I’m inclined to think it’s all a pack of lies. I’m almost certain Cisco is going to be the one possessed or something fighting powered up Caitlyn and I think we’re supposed to think Julian’s off being a bad guy just so Barry can decide to suspect him coming up only to be proven wrong. Also, I still think Wally’s being an asshole about this whole thing; he isn’t wrong that Joe doesn’t trust or want Wally to be a speedster (and the episode admits that though not for all the reasons it’s probably true) but that doesn’t make him less of idiot to be convinced that he can hack it. It’s not like Barry or any of the others have been ready to be heroes so I don’t want to say ‘he’s just not ready’ which is my first instinct; it just seems like he doesn’t get it. Having this arc for Wally running along with Caitlyn’s arc just makes it so obvious that Wally isn’t really catching on to what’s at stake. Caitlyn may be an extreme case of letting fear rule her while on this path, and she has reason to be although it was never really established that the powers themselves with Killer Frost’s issue (nor I think can Barry be certain Caitlyn Prime wasn’t dealing with the same issues Caitlyn Reboot is now, we can be pretty sure but it’s not certain; however Sara Diggle did exist and no longer does so I’m still up for revising things, which Caitlyn is probably agreeing with), but at least she doesn’t seem like an idiot about it. Iris’ attitude here may be one of the most interesting directions her character has ever gone in if they actually do anything with it; although I would point out to Barry that having to remind yourself that she’s your girlfriend when discussing her probably isn’t a great sign. In just a comment on the episode in general...this villain does not work, we’re never given any reason for the people he attacks, the team is able to solve the puzzles way too quickly anymore; he’s just there for a couple random action scenes apart from the ending and that’s not interesting. For once I appear to have a lot to say, it’s just mostly bleh.
Arrow 5x07
I don’t think I really liked that one. The production actually seemed bad and that’s not something I usually notice (when DA Dude smacks the mask around it was just funny not intimidating and there were some sound effects I noticed that seemed really out of place), also I still think DA Dude is going to turn out to be Bratva. I kind of don’t like that we now have two unknowns running around the city making trouble and we don’t know anything about either of them, although at least the new guy actually looks different, I still get confused whether it’s Ragman, Prometheus, or Alchemy most of the time they all look so alike in costume. My current guess is someone connected with Slade for Vigilante, maybe even his kid (I guess it would be Joe, Grant seen in LoT probably isn’t old enough), but I’m not committed to that. I was surprised people seemed to assume last week that Quentin was Prometheus, as that was definitely not my first thought, Prometheus definitely doesn’t fight like a drunk Quentin Lance, so I’m glad the show doesn’t seem to be lingering on that idea for much the same reason. There were more of the flashbacks this time and I’m having some trouble following them between the subtitles being white on a bright background and so many of these Russian guys looking alike; they weren’t bad flashbacks, but it’s often a sign of episodes I like less when there’s several of them. And I don’t like the way Oliver and reporter lady is going, something in it makes me uncomfortable beyond the fact we know she’s gearing up to take him down before long. I also don’t like the fact that we don’t get indication of Felicity’s feelings at the idea that Oliver may even slightly be moving on; I kept expecting there to be at least one shot of her looking conflicted but apparently her feelings don’t matter. I’ve never understood people who complain about the show being too focused on Felicity, we are basically never in Felicity’s head on anything. I guess that’s what fic is for.
Legends of Tomorrow 2x06
I definitely liked that one more than I didn’t. It took a while for me to get into it, but most of it worked out. Ray has basically started flirting with everyone and it’s kind of distracting. I was expecting them to be pulling up some sort of nuclear ore so was surprised that it was dwarf star, though that makes more sense for this show since it lets Ray rebuild the ATOM suit (didn’t Palmer Tech have so much of the stuff at one point that Felicity was giving it to Team Flash to play with? That was always dumb and seems dumber now). I’m pretty sure Stein’s vision woman is actually his now existing daughter. Until that lady started showing up Stein’s headaches had played into my assumption that it was nuclear related and his memory was rewriting itself because the history of nuclear power was so different and a nuclear physicist would be affected by that. Nate is Wally levels of annoying about his powers, so I’m not really feeling him just now. I miss Rip, can’t we at least get some sign that the team is hoping to find him still - aside from keeping him at MIA status rather than considering him fully lost?
Supergirl 2x05
I think I liked that one; the writing was kind of clunky but it was well meant. I kind of don’t know what to really say about it, there’s plenty I could talk about, but I don’t really feel a pressing need to do so. This is kind of how I felt watching s1, doing reviews was really basic ‘I liked it’ or ‘I didn’t like that as much’ rather than a ton of thoughts and feelings I need to work out. On that note, I’m probably liking this show more consistently than the other CW shows, but in lacking the lows it also lacks the highs of caring that I get with the others; at least Arrow and Legends, this is just better than Flash.
Supergirl 2x06
Another pretty good episode, though my current though process is that the DCCW verse is working pretty hard to get a Young Justice crew going. Mon’el is kind of Suerboy-ish we’ve got M’gann, Wally, they decided Evelynn was Artemis even though they didn’t bother setting up her having skill with a bow, Roy is still out there; we’re never going to have Robin in this verse and Aqualad would require hammering a square peg in a round hole for now. So they’re about as close as they can get at present, going into the crossover (well, still got this week’s to catch watch). Speaking of, I still miss YJ M’gann although I’m not sure how she could have fit with the backstory J’honn had going before she got there (come to think of it...how did that work with the larger DCAU anyway?). I suspect Alex/Maggie is going to work out somewhere down the road, but I’m of glad they’re not so far; something about them never quite worked for me, and it may have been all the stuff Maggie brought up here, my reservations certainly aren’t a million miles from Maggie’s objections.
Supergirl 2x07
So I’m all caught up for once, but I do also think this show is probably best watched in at least chunks if not marathons. I feel like week-to-week it’s going to be too slow and feel like nothing happens. As for this episode, I don’t exactly like them throwing a rival vigilante at Jimmy straight away, especially since they’re doing the same thing on Arrow, where it makes a lot more sense and there’s way more that can be done with it on a character level. I don’t like the J’honn and M’gann plot, although I suppose it could still be turned into something okay. I feel like there’s something we’re not seeing yet about what happened with Jeremiah, that whole thing felt a lot more suspicious to me than I kind of think it was supposed to; but I will say that once Kara was captured by Cadmus I kept thinking, ‘why haven’t we gotten any movement on the Jeremiah front so far this season?’ so in that regard it was a good bit. This seems like kind of a bad time to have a big crossover event, but maybe we can get some Alex/Sara fun times, although I get the impression from the previews that the Supergirl cast is going to be more sidelined than the others; also Kara doesn’t like vigilantes much, I can’t imagine she’s going to get on great with the Arrow-verse characters.
The Flash 3x07
So I guess nothing was a misdirect, sigh. I suppose there wasn’t anything technically wrong with this episode, but I didn’t like it. It’s kind of the biggest example yet of why I prefer Arrow where the moral is “Yeah, Oliver, you screwed up, go out there and make it right,” instead of “Barry, you’re the hero so your mistakes are totally okay.” I hate Iris in this episode because Barry needs to be Oliver about this, it is his fault; it’s like the character even wants to be Peter Parker and admit that with great power comes great responsibility and he violated that by going back and messing everything up, but the other characters in show won’t let him learn that basic hero lesson. And I hate Wally on the principle of him still being super annoying, although now that I think about it part of my annoyance may be that Barry should not have a sidekick while he so clearly has no idea what he’s doing in this hero thing especially when the show mostly fails to acknowledge that he’s going to be the basically-blind leading the blind. I hate that they’re writing Caitlyn as if she’s got some kind of split personality instead of actual complexity of feeling. I still don’t like HR and that actor is too good to be stuck playing such a crap version of the character this season. All told, I came out of this episode more upset with the series than ever, even though I wouldn’t say it’s all that bad on its own. I kind of think this suffers having Supergirl to compare it to, they’re both on the lighter-hearted side of things and Supergirl is much better IMO.
The Flash 3x04
This continues the trend of bettering episodes...more or less. I still don’t like the way things have been handled up to now, and I have reservations about some things going forward, but this was pretty decent episode. I do not like HR, the show does not need another quirky nerdy happy type, we have enough of those. It is mean of the show to give us back Jesse and Harry and then take them away again. And I don’t really like what’s going on with Caitlyn, though I could still be turned around if the show ever let her be an actual character for more than 10 minutes at a time. This is easily the most I have ever like Barry/Iris, maybe because they’re dealing with a very real issue this couple should have (making out in front of your dad is awkward, making out in front of you girlfriend’s dad is awkward, when they’re the same person super awkward. Especially since when they started making out I was already thinking ‘we’re going to make out on our dad’s couch, we’re not incestuous at all). Wally/Jesse was a lot better than last episode too. The villains were okay, though nothing special, I suspect it was more about reminding us all the Snart exists so he can show up again at some point (they rewrote the timeline, who’s to say he’s still dead especially since it happened outside normal space/time in the first place). Come to think of it, I need to get to watching Supergirl, because now that they’re eon the same network there may be stuff echoed over there from the prime universe, and Snart could be one of them.
Arrow 5x04
That was also a pretty good episode by and large. I even liked the flashbacks more or less, we are definitely finally committing to moving Oliver towards where he was in s1 and that’s good by me even if it’s strange to see now. I feel like Church is a threat for the first half of the season or so, he’s already captured one of the good guys and he doesn’t seem to have a plan that would propel a whole season so he’s likely to be taken out leading to the real big bad. This may even be a season without a true big bad but rotating moderate bads that need to be fought. Although I also wouldn’t be surprised if the Bratva is the big bad, it did seem like the DA might be Bratva which could connect to something bigger. The staging of some of the scene in the lair was very telling, Thea and Quentin aren’t even active members of the team, but they’re still family so they stand next to Felicity and let the junior squad hang out behind them; even more so with Oliver and Felicity at the end. I also feel like the Oliver and Felicity past casts a long shadow over this one, both in what’s said and what isn’t said, and a lot in what’s almost but not quite said. In the way he can’t let John go, putting the pieces of his life back together, in the way Church’s plan probably wouldn’t have worked so well if team mom and dad hadn’t had their own things going on (independent things, but also fighting with each other), in the way they can’t turn to each other the way they once did even before they were together. It’s rough to watch, and so much of it going unspoken is almost harder because so far I don’t know where it’s going.
Also, aerosol spray that destroys anything seems like a terrible idea, just saying.
Legends of Tomorrow 2x03
I liked several of the moments in that one but I’m not sure I liked it on the whole. But I want to start at (or near) the end, Yamashiro must have been Tatsu’s married name right, not her birth family name; and that’s her sword not Maseo’s. I worked out what was probably going on about the same time Ray did (also, Ray is the only one on the Legends team who knew the Yamashiros), but the way the show handled “confirming” it raises whole new questions. I finally picked up that it’s Nate and Amaya (although I won’t swear to the spelling on that), so that’s good. I do love Captain Sara, but I still want Rip back, then they can have captain make-outs. I suspect they’re setting something up with Barry’s message, but I can’t guess what, especially since we know Barry vanishes in a crisis in 2024, we only saw that a couple dozen times in Flash s1. I’m curious what they’re going to do with Ray now, so I suspect they’ll figure out how to restore the ATOM suit within an episode or two, he’s not the ATOM if he doesn’t have a suit, but he probably needs to learn he can still be a hero without it. I find it a little difficult to take that kind of story line with him, because he started as an Arrow character where no one has special powers (to start with I guess Rory does now) so he has to know it’s about more than the power or suit. I do like Mick more this season than I did last season, probably largely because he’s accepted that this is his crew so these are the people he stands beside, and the fact that they’re good people means he’s fighting on the side of good. I just have very little to say on the actual plot of the episode.
The Flash 3x05
I’m not sure if I liked that one or not, it had some moments and the Caitlyn plot was pretty good, but I’m not real sure how I feel about most of it. I like that we’re getting something different with this season’s Wells (or at least current, I’m not convinced he lasts the season), but this doesn’t seem nearly as interesting as what we’ve had before; it’s only interesting in its difference. I like getting something a little different with the threat of the week, but I didn’t actually like the way the plot was resolved. I like that Julian is getting more character, but I wish it didn’t mean he now has to be Barry’s friend apparently; at least with Harry around he was gruff and didn’t always buy Barry’s sunshine and roses attitude and the show really needs some balancing agent for me. Did Eddie exist in this revised world since Iris mentions “Now that I’m falling in love with someone...” or did he exist but was never part of events...except he must have been since everyone still remembers ThWells (which was always weird since Thawne shouldn’t exist if Eddie died). Stop rewriting history until you at least figure out how it works, show.
Arrow 5x05
I’m starting to think I’m just in a meh mood when it comes to this verse. I don’t care about the new characters (I sort of have a soft spot for Rory and don’t count Curtis as a new character), the mayor plot shows moments, but most of them this week it turns out weren’t Oliver so I don’t feel like they count, Oliver and Felicity still make me all melty but I’m not sure the show knows where that’s going. Rene was dragging John into the field of meh even though I wanted to be happy John had stuff to do; and I say I don’t care about Evelyn but that’s mostly because the show has given me nothing to work with. Detective Rebound needs some actual character development if I’m going to see him as any more than a distraction for the show and Felicity in character. The flashbacks continue to be okay, and that’s a step up from at least last year (s3 was meandering and kind of pointless, but there was some heart that keeps from saying yet if this is better) but it’s nothing to write much about. Either all the shows are just kind of meh right now, or they’re hitting me in a meh way, I can’t quite decide which it is.
Legends of Tomorrow 2x04
I kind of think they should have found a way to air that episode as a Halloween one, meaning pre Halloween, and seeing as it’s so close I kind of think maybe it was supposed to be. On the whole I think it was a pretty good episode, I can just feel it wanting to be more as a lot of the character arcs seem pretty subtle until spelled out at the end. Jax’s plot does run through the whole thing, but it’s constrained by being a CW show trying to do ‘12 Years a Slave’; the actor does pretty well with the material but it can only go so far with the setup. Also, I think I ship Mick/Ray, not in the sense that I want to read fic about it because...Mick doesn’t do anything for me, but I definitely got a vibe in that last scene. I have a half backed fic bunny that sometime between episodes Sara found Ray trying to train and being bad at it; he brought up how Oliver always told him he relied on the suit too much as wasn’t much without it; at which point Sara points out Ray was dating Felicity at the time, how did he think Oliver would act? Or something like that. Also I have to question why Sara went in a dress this time, she’s found options that leave her able to fight in the other times this season. I’d have to watch it to get a better read, but I wonder if the direction was just super meh for this one and that’s why very little quite evoked the response they were probably going for. It was still alright, but I still think it could have been better, even within the constraints of a network prime time show like this.
Arrow 5x06
This was a pretty good episode, but I need squee over the Babylon 5 reference, because STILL MY FAVORITE SHOW EVER. Honestly I don’t have a ton to say on the episode, I liked it, maybe better than most of the season so far and not just for the B5 reference. The only thing I’m all that interested in talking about it the relationship stuff and I kind of don’t quite want to talk about that either. There is some definitely bubbling of the relationship issues on the Oliver/Felicity front and the OTA-Expanded Team front. I hadn’t realized how much they were keeping from the new recruits, I figured at least Curtis knew Green Arrow and Arrow were the same person; but that probably means no one has told the babies the Malcolm is both alive part of the extended family (I think Curtis knows from the end of last season though), they probably don’t know the story with Slade and his army, none of them apparently knew Roy was part of this team, I’m not sure they knew Team Arrow is friends with Team Flash, almost certainly don’t know that Oliver’s kinda sorta married to the kinda sorta maybe head of the League of Assassins, etc. I’ve been saying all season that there are levels within the team, and I just assumed the people in the show already realized that because it was pretty obvious, though probably getting worse with Digg back and then to realize just how much they were out of the loop; I get why it stings, but I’m not sure why it was a surprise. When it was just Oliver and Digg at the beginning with Felicity on coms, I could almost feel the return of the Digg eyeroll at Olicity antics that even he’s not part of, it’s back to really old days where I’m not sure they quite realize anymore how much they are a team of two that gradually expands to include the others, but I got a vibe like Digg remembers that it’s been this way for a long time. Felicity telling Detective Rebound she works with the Green Arrow is yet more reason he’s probably going to end up dead soon. Detective Rebound is fine I suppose, but the show is giving us just enough so we care when he dies and nothing more. Reporter lady make me think of an interesting facet that the show hasn’t quite brought up yet; Oliver can’t simply say he’s not moving on from Felicity (whether it’s true or not and I would say true) because officially he’s returned to at least some of his party boy ways, at least Thea’s had to tell people that to explain his absences. He does not seem comfortable with people referring to reporter lady as his new girlfriend, but the only person he straight up tells to stop it is Felicity; if he were the confessing type I’d say he’s half a second away from telling her that just because she’s moving on doesn’t man he is; but he’s a stewer, so he’s just stewing on that fact. I guess I did want to talk relationship stuff.
Legends of Tomorrow 2x05
That was another okay episode that I don’t think I have much to say about. I don’t think this season is doing very well with its overarching plot (come to think of it, that was largely the weakest element of last season too...well besides the Hawks sucking, but that was a connected problm) even if the episodes themselves are fine. And can we at least go to the future at some point, I don’t want time travel shows that just do history; it’s ALL history to time travelers so they should be able to go anywhere. I’m guessing Darhk and Thawne teaming up is going to lead into the impending crossover somehow since now we’ve got elements of all three of the main universe shows. Really I didn’t have much to sink my teeth into on this one.
Supergirl 2x01
So there’s a lot of s1 that I suppose I didn’t absorb fully because I realize there’s a lot times when I couldn’t quite remember names or exactly what happened around certain events. But in general this was off to an okay start, a bit crowded but okay. I don’t really understand what changed Kara’s heart regarding Jimmy though, I think that needed more time; I can deal with her needing to figure out her life balance and deal with some other stuff without wanting a relationship, might still have come to that conclusion too fast but in general it would have worked, but going so far as to decide they should just be friends feels really like the writers just changed their mind and/or forced things back into an unrequited box because god forbid we actually develop a relationship. Alex didn’t really get enough to do in this one for my taste, and the change in location for the DEO set just feels really abrupt and nonsensical and the set feels much more claustrophobic. This is an okay version of Superman though, so that’s a plus, which is good after they clearly had no idea what to do with him in s1.
Supergirl 2x02
That was another pretty good episode, better paced I think than the premier even though it was still doing a lot. I had heard that in all likelihood moving to the CW meant they could no longer afford Flockhart but I’m glad they at least gave her a couple episodes rather than trying to cram it into one or even just suddenly disappearing between seasons. I’m kind of glad I wasn’t watching this when it first aired because I already find it funny that they’re reusing shark symbolism between this and Arrow (I considered noting the swimming analogy in the first ep but since it’s still relevant I’ll just do it here). I do think this is a better superhero teamup than we’ve gotten on the other shows so far, except maybe Barry’s introduction and even that had some issues; but I guess it helps if we don’t just press pause on business as usual for crossover episodes...and I suspect all of this is clearly evident to actual comics readers. I liked it mostly, but I still don’t have a lot to say.
Supergirl 2x03
I have to give this show credit for doing more to establish that ‘not all that is different is bad’ than Flash has ever done. Showing that there are aliens that are just people rather than mostly bad except our heroes who are the rare good Other is something I approve of. Also this show continues to get more and more femslashy, which I approve of in general although I’m not sure how much I’m actually on board with the options offered. I have thoughts on this Wen at the DEO choice that have been brewing and now must be said, that while it is a natural step for his character, it’s not very interesting to me; and it places even less important on Kara’s civilian life, which could work if it was meant to be part of her arc, drawing her further and further away from her connection to humanity, but I’m not sure that’s what I’m supposed to be taking from it. If that is what they’re going for (and I see a case for it, her and Jimmy deciding not to pursue things, Kat leaving, etc.) I think those case bits could have been better handled. I’m hesitant to think I’ll like this version of M’gann as much as the YJ one who I love, largely because they’re pretty much guaranteed to be very different characters, but I’ll try not to dismiss her out of hand.
Supergirl 2x04
To start with the end, totally not a surprise to anyone who watched YJ, since M’gann was always a White Martian posing as a Green Martian posing as human and her story near the beginning was definitely sign posting that that was still true if you knew what you were looking at. I thought they might drag it out an episode or two, but otherwise not at all surprised. As for the rest...it continues to be alright, I probably like it more than Flash this year though I’m having some issues with this whole aliens as oppressed minority thing they’ve got going; it’s not a bad idea I’m just not sure it’s been as well thought out as it should have been (shocking I know for this production team that has no idea how time travel works but keeps telling time travel stories). I guess I don’t have much to say overall, maybe once I’m watching week to week speculating will seem more logical, but for now, I’m just noting a few thoughts as I go.
The Flash 3x06
You know, most of the foreshadowing in this episode was so blatant that I’m inclined to think it’s all a pack of lies. I’m almost certain Cisco is going to be the one possessed or something fighting powered up Caitlyn and I think we’re supposed to think Julian’s off being a bad guy just so Barry can decide to suspect him coming up only to be proven wrong. Also, I still think Wally’s being an asshole about this whole thing; he isn’t wrong that Joe doesn’t trust or want Wally to be a speedster (and the episode admits that though not for all the reasons it’s probably true) but that doesn’t make him less of idiot to be convinced that he can hack it. It’s not like Barry or any of the others have been ready to be heroes so I don’t want to say ‘he’s just not ready’ which is my first instinct; it just seems like he doesn’t get it. Having this arc for Wally running along with Caitlyn’s arc just makes it so obvious that Wally isn’t really catching on to what’s at stake. Caitlyn may be an extreme case of letting fear rule her while on this path, and she has reason to be although it was never really established that the powers themselves with Killer Frost’s issue (nor I think can Barry be certain Caitlyn Prime wasn’t dealing with the same issues Caitlyn Reboot is now, we can be pretty sure but it’s not certain; however Sara Diggle did exist and no longer does so I’m still up for revising things, which Caitlyn is probably agreeing with), but at least she doesn’t seem like an idiot about it. Iris’ attitude here may be one of the most interesting directions her character has ever gone in if they actually do anything with it; although I would point out to Barry that having to remind yourself that she’s your girlfriend when discussing her probably isn’t a great sign. In just a comment on the episode in general...this villain does not work, we’re never given any reason for the people he attacks, the team is able to solve the puzzles way too quickly anymore; he’s just there for a couple random action scenes apart from the ending and that’s not interesting. For once I appear to have a lot to say, it’s just mostly bleh.
Arrow 5x07
I don’t think I really liked that one. The production actually seemed bad and that’s not something I usually notice (when DA Dude smacks the mask around it was just funny not intimidating and there were some sound effects I noticed that seemed really out of place), also I still think DA Dude is going to turn out to be Bratva. I kind of don’t like that we now have two unknowns running around the city making trouble and we don’t know anything about either of them, although at least the new guy actually looks different, I still get confused whether it’s Ragman, Prometheus, or Alchemy most of the time they all look so alike in costume. My current guess is someone connected with Slade for Vigilante, maybe even his kid (I guess it would be Joe, Grant seen in LoT probably isn’t old enough), but I’m not committed to that. I was surprised people seemed to assume last week that Quentin was Prometheus, as that was definitely not my first thought, Prometheus definitely doesn’t fight like a drunk Quentin Lance, so I’m glad the show doesn’t seem to be lingering on that idea for much the same reason. There were more of the flashbacks this time and I’m having some trouble following them between the subtitles being white on a bright background and so many of these Russian guys looking alike; they weren’t bad flashbacks, but it’s often a sign of episodes I like less when there’s several of them. And I don’t like the way Oliver and reporter lady is going, something in it makes me uncomfortable beyond the fact we know she’s gearing up to take him down before long. I also don’t like the fact that we don’t get indication of Felicity’s feelings at the idea that Oliver may even slightly be moving on; I kept expecting there to be at least one shot of her looking conflicted but apparently her feelings don’t matter. I’ve never understood people who complain about the show being too focused on Felicity, we are basically never in Felicity’s head on anything. I guess that’s what fic is for.
Legends of Tomorrow 2x06
I definitely liked that one more than I didn’t. It took a while for me to get into it, but most of it worked out. Ray has basically started flirting with everyone and it’s kind of distracting. I was expecting them to be pulling up some sort of nuclear ore so was surprised that it was dwarf star, though that makes more sense for this show since it lets Ray rebuild the ATOM suit (didn’t Palmer Tech have so much of the stuff at one point that Felicity was giving it to Team Flash to play with? That was always dumb and seems dumber now). I’m pretty sure Stein’s vision woman is actually his now existing daughter. Until that lady started showing up Stein’s headaches had played into my assumption that it was nuclear related and his memory was rewriting itself because the history of nuclear power was so different and a nuclear physicist would be affected by that. Nate is Wally levels of annoying about his powers, so I’m not really feeling him just now. I miss Rip, can’t we at least get some sign that the team is hoping to find him still - aside from keeping him at MIA status rather than considering him fully lost?
Supergirl 2x05
I think I liked that one; the writing was kind of clunky but it was well meant. I kind of don’t know what to really say about it, there’s plenty I could talk about, but I don’t really feel a pressing need to do so. This is kind of how I felt watching s1, doing reviews was really basic ‘I liked it’ or ‘I didn’t like that as much’ rather than a ton of thoughts and feelings I need to work out. On that note, I’m probably liking this show more consistently than the other CW shows, but in lacking the lows it also lacks the highs of caring that I get with the others; at least Arrow and Legends, this is just better than Flash.
Supergirl 2x06
Another pretty good episode, though my current though process is that the DCCW verse is working pretty hard to get a Young Justice crew going. Mon’el is kind of Suerboy-ish we’ve got M’gann, Wally, they decided Evelynn was Artemis even though they didn’t bother setting up her having skill with a bow, Roy is still out there; we’re never going to have Robin in this verse and Aqualad would require hammering a square peg in a round hole for now. So they’re about as close as they can get at present, going into the crossover (well, still got this week’s to catch watch). Speaking of, I still miss YJ M’gann although I’m not sure how she could have fit with the backstory J’honn had going before she got there (come to think of it...how did that work with the larger DCAU anyway?). I suspect Alex/Maggie is going to work out somewhere down the road, but I’m of glad they’re not so far; something about them never quite worked for me, and it may have been all the stuff Maggie brought up here, my reservations certainly aren’t a million miles from Maggie’s objections.
Supergirl 2x07
So I’m all caught up for once, but I do also think this show is probably best watched in at least chunks if not marathons. I feel like week-to-week it’s going to be too slow and feel like nothing happens. As for this episode, I don’t exactly like them throwing a rival vigilante at Jimmy straight away, especially since they’re doing the same thing on Arrow, where it makes a lot more sense and there’s way more that can be done with it on a character level. I don’t like the J’honn and M’gann plot, although I suppose it could still be turned into something okay. I feel like there’s something we’re not seeing yet about what happened with Jeremiah, that whole thing felt a lot more suspicious to me than I kind of think it was supposed to; but I will say that once Kara was captured by Cadmus I kept thinking, ‘why haven’t we gotten any movement on the Jeremiah front so far this season?’ so in that regard it was a good bit. This seems like kind of a bad time to have a big crossover event, but maybe we can get some Alex/Sara fun times, although I get the impression from the previews that the Supergirl cast is going to be more sidelined than the others; also Kara doesn’t like vigilantes much, I can’t imagine she’s going to get on great with the Arrow-verse characters.
The Flash 3x07
So I guess nothing was a misdirect, sigh. I suppose there wasn’t anything technically wrong with this episode, but I didn’t like it. It’s kind of the biggest example yet of why I prefer Arrow where the moral is “Yeah, Oliver, you screwed up, go out there and make it right,” instead of “Barry, you’re the hero so your mistakes are totally okay.” I hate Iris in this episode because Barry needs to be Oliver about this, it is his fault; it’s like the character even wants to be Peter Parker and admit that with great power comes great responsibility and he violated that by going back and messing everything up, but the other characters in show won’t let him learn that basic hero lesson. And I hate Wally on the principle of him still being super annoying, although now that I think about it part of my annoyance may be that Barry should not have a sidekick while he so clearly has no idea what he’s doing in this hero thing especially when the show mostly fails to acknowledge that he’s going to be the basically-blind leading the blind. I hate that they’re writing Caitlyn as if she’s got some kind of split personality instead of actual complexity of feeling. I still don’t like HR and that actor is too good to be stuck playing such a crap version of the character this season. All told, I came out of this episode more upset with the series than ever, even though I wouldn’t say it’s all that bad on its own. I kind of think this suffers having Supergirl to compare it to, they’re both on the lighter-hearted side of things and Supergirl is much better IMO.