Basically March TV rundown
Arrow 7x14
I’m not sure how to word my feelings on this one. I didn’t like it exactly, but I can’t put my finger on what was wrong with it. It wasn’t bad, although it was pretty meh. I even kind of liked the future scenes for once.
I guess my problem is a general feeling of disinterest in the show; lack of engagement. I still care in a broad sense about the characters here, but I’m not finding a lot to hook into in what’s happening this season. I feel like I’ve said this about the last few seasons, but I think this would probably be better if I was watching it in a marathon rather than week to week (yet I haven’t rewatched the last couple seasons t test that theory). I obviously have enough lingering caring that I don’t do that, or it’s just that I’m watching so few shows right now that it’s hard to convince myself to store up episodes to come back to later.
I spent a lot of this episode wishing Thea was around or at least that Oliver’s attempts with Emiko felt like he was dealing with the absence of the sister he actually knew and wished was here. Thea was never exactly my favorite character, but her absence and lack of acknowledgement bugs me.
Also, ‘I will totally back your play if you decide to kill someone’ is a very strange conversation to have. Granted, Felicity has said much the same thing to Oliver in the past on occasion, but the tone here feels really different. It’s usually more of a ‘go kick that guy’s ass and make sure it’s the last time you have to’ rather than ‘I’ve got your back if you go and vengefully murder someone.’ Which...maybe isn’t that much a distinction in the grand scheme of things, but I could at least point to that more concretely than trying to figure out what rings so differently in the presentation.
I was just going to make a brief comment about how I was going to have to think about whether the idea that Conner is adopted works as opposed to him being JJ. Then I realized it’s hysterical, because if Conner isn’t JJ, the Arrow writers are still refusing to acknowledge JJ’s existence. LoT set up that Conner was JJ before JJ existed (logical conclusion at the time being that they had a second kid). Now I guess later-future JJ is refusing to use his father’s name but is using his brother’s? I mean, I shall never forgive Barry for non-existence of Sara Diggle; I’m just consistently amused by the way the writers have been passive aggressively taking it out on JJ.
Arrow 7x15
So I haven’t looked into it. but I’ve seen things saying that Arrow has been canceled after this season, and since that is relevant to my read of this episode I’m going to talk about that first. I’m surprised, but not shocked. The show has reached a few different natural end points already, starting as early as the end of s3, and yet it’s kept going. If it’s true that the show has been canceled (and we’ll come to that) I’m glad they got the word early enough to hopefully write a real ending instead of not giving them time to build to it as would have been the problem the last couple seasons. But this a terrible season to try and end things on.
Which is where my doubts that it’s truly been canceled come in. This season has set up a grim-dark future without setting up a way to be avoiding it. It’s also set up that next season will involve Crisis on Infinite Earths and that Oliver has some big role to play in that, probably something incredibly dumb and frustrating. I still think these two things are connected; that Crisis is going to be the way out of the grim-dark future that’s been set up. Different teams from different times fighting to stop the Crisis, that will result in a new unknown future. And with this new news, I think we’re going to end up with a rebooted Arrow (probably called Green Arrow). So they cancel it, CoIE happens, and we get relaunch mid-season next year. Whether this involves any of the old leads as more than occasional background characters I haven’t got a read on yet; but that’s where I think this is going.
Partly because this season is putting the series in real need of a reboot. This cop show angle is an interesting idea, but it’s not sustainable; it also isn’t something they can come back from without something big happening. They’re all known public figures now, there’s too much record of who they are and what they’re capable of. If they go back to being vigilantes, everyone will know who they are anyway. Even if they move to another town (which none of them seem inclined to do) if anyone starts going out as a vigilante there are plenty of records that will implicate them.
I really don’t have a ton to say about this episode specifically. I don’t think the story is working, but the cancelation news almost tells me that they know that. Like they’ve steered so far into this mess they had made that the only way out is a reboot. It’s not exactly bad, but it is a mess and I’m curious what they’re going to do about that in the time they have left, or if they’ll continue making it messier so the reboot goes over better.
(Hmm apparently it’s been canceled after next season, I think a lot of what I said here still applies but not exactly the way I was thinking when I wrote it. I can now put off too much speculation on this until the end of the season though.)
Arrow 7x16
I want to like this episode, I’m a sucker for a gang coming together story and this episode was nicely focused on its plot; but I didn’t like it. I don’t even have a lot to say on it because I feel like this future plot isn’t super well thought out, in addition to my continued belief that it ultimately doesn’t matter. I want to like it because it involves most of our familiar characters and the second generation is fine, but the world doesn’t work for me. Also, nobody points out that this is the Undertaking reversed and on a larger scale.
The Orville 2x11
I have a fair number of thoughts on this on, but they’re not really coming together. It may be partly that this episode is going for an emotional reaction that for one reason or another I’m not having. And the thoughtful components don’t seem to entirely know their final conclusion; which on one hand I do support as it leaves us to figure out how we feel about what was happening here, on the other hand since I don’t exactly how I feel maybe I need a yardstick to measure against.
So rather than getting into the thinky thoughts that I could have on the episode, I’m going to nitpick a couple points. For one, how/why did the time capsule from Earth end up on the Orville needing to go back to Earth? Also, considering that so much of what we see of human culture in this time, it’s hard to believe they would find 21st century humans all that different from themselves. Also, this episode even references that Gordon is an experienced holo-programmer , so he seems a little OOC when he seems inexperienced about going to program this new simulation. Plus there’s a lot of ways things happen here that don’t make a lot of sense with how it would make sense for the simulator to work.
Maybe that’s why I had some trouble processing it; it’s such a thinky episode, but it kept tripping over logic to get to those deeper thoughts.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 4x15
While we did get a reprise in last week’s episode, this is where they start in earnest it seems. There’s quite a few songs I’m expecting to hear revived by the end, so it’s time to get started. (If it were me I’ be tempted to close on ‘It was a Hit Show’ - instead of Shitshow - but realistically ‘West Covina’ is more likely reprised as the final number.)
That’s not the only thing that feels like we’re in the endgame now, we’re starting to wrap up a lot of the side plots, even if the Rebecca love plot feels like it needs a lot more time than it has left to play out. I wasn’t quite expecting them to bring back Audra like this, but I’m glad they did, it’s one of the things it’s good for Rebecca to come face to face with again. Paula is being set up for a pretty happy ending; Heather and Valencia are each moving forward with their own stories.
Arrow 7x17
I’ve had a really hard time deciding how I felt about this one, but I didn’t want to let it pass without some comment. The twist is pretty dumb; and while I couldn’t see the final turn ahead of time (because who would have expected that bad a plot twist) the betrayal was obvious a mile away. Also, adult-Emiko is being out acted by the 11 year old version.
That said, the return of the flashbacks was oddly welcome in place of the flashforwards. I prefer the characters in the flashforwards of course, but the flashbacks are usually the most effective when they have a clear point like these did. I almost think I wouldn’t have minded if they’d used the flashbacks a bit more through the season to give us more insight into Emiko as opposed to the future story.
This episode had some good moments, including some good use of people calling Oliver out on his character flaws that he by now clearly knows about but doesn’t know what to do about. The stuff between Oliver and Digg was especially poignant and quite welcome. But I also don’t know that in the end I particularly liked the episode that much.
Jane the Virgin 5x01
First off, I can’t say anything more important than Gina brought it all this episode, acting her heart out all the way through. I’m not certain I agree with all of her choices, or some of the narrative ones, but I cannot fault the acting. And it definitely made me tear up a few times.
Doing an amnesia story was the obvious route to go, and definitely set up last season with all the talk of telenovela amnesia so I’m hardly surprised that’s what we got. Plus, the love triangle would be over if he remembered; I’m pretty sure the love triangle is already over, they just don’t know it yet...well except Raf, who knew it the moment Rose told him Michael was alive and is now trying very hard to not know it. I predict a lot of regrets before this sorts itself out, but I would also be surprised if this show doesn’t wrap up in a mostly happy ending.
I’m not sure how to word my feelings on this one. I didn’t like it exactly, but I can’t put my finger on what was wrong with it. It wasn’t bad, although it was pretty meh. I even kind of liked the future scenes for once.
I guess my problem is a general feeling of disinterest in the show; lack of engagement. I still care in a broad sense about the characters here, but I’m not finding a lot to hook into in what’s happening this season. I feel like I’ve said this about the last few seasons, but I think this would probably be better if I was watching it in a marathon rather than week to week (yet I haven’t rewatched the last couple seasons t test that theory). I obviously have enough lingering caring that I don’t do that, or it’s just that I’m watching so few shows right now that it’s hard to convince myself to store up episodes to come back to later.
I spent a lot of this episode wishing Thea was around or at least that Oliver’s attempts with Emiko felt like he was dealing with the absence of the sister he actually knew and wished was here. Thea was never exactly my favorite character, but her absence and lack of acknowledgement bugs me.
Also, ‘I will totally back your play if you decide to kill someone’ is a very strange conversation to have. Granted, Felicity has said much the same thing to Oliver in the past on occasion, but the tone here feels really different. It’s usually more of a ‘go kick that guy’s ass and make sure it’s the last time you have to’ rather than ‘I’ve got your back if you go and vengefully murder someone.’ Which...maybe isn’t that much a distinction in the grand scheme of things, but I could at least point to that more concretely than trying to figure out what rings so differently in the presentation.
I was just going to make a brief comment about how I was going to have to think about whether the idea that Conner is adopted works as opposed to him being JJ. Then I realized it’s hysterical, because if Conner isn’t JJ, the Arrow writers are still refusing to acknowledge JJ’s existence. LoT set up that Conner was JJ before JJ existed (logical conclusion at the time being that they had a second kid). Now I guess later-future JJ is refusing to use his father’s name but is using his brother’s? I mean, I shall never forgive Barry for non-existence of Sara Diggle; I’m just consistently amused by the way the writers have been passive aggressively taking it out on JJ.
Arrow 7x15
So I haven’t looked into it. but I’ve seen things saying that Arrow has been canceled after this season, and since that is relevant to my read of this episode I’m going to talk about that first. I’m surprised, but not shocked. The show has reached a few different natural end points already, starting as early as the end of s3, and yet it’s kept going. If it’s true that the show has been canceled (and we’ll come to that) I’m glad they got the word early enough to hopefully write a real ending instead of not giving them time to build to it as would have been the problem the last couple seasons. But this a terrible season to try and end things on.
Which is where my doubts that it’s truly been canceled come in. This season has set up a grim-dark future without setting up a way to be avoiding it. It’s also set up that next season will involve Crisis on Infinite Earths and that Oliver has some big role to play in that, probably something incredibly dumb and frustrating. I still think these two things are connected; that Crisis is going to be the way out of the grim-dark future that’s been set up. Different teams from different times fighting to stop the Crisis, that will result in a new unknown future. And with this new news, I think we’re going to end up with a rebooted Arrow (probably called Green Arrow). So they cancel it, CoIE happens, and we get relaunch mid-season next year. Whether this involves any of the old leads as more than occasional background characters I haven’t got a read on yet; but that’s where I think this is going.
Partly because this season is putting the series in real need of a reboot. This cop show angle is an interesting idea, but it’s not sustainable; it also isn’t something they can come back from without something big happening. They’re all known public figures now, there’s too much record of who they are and what they’re capable of. If they go back to being vigilantes, everyone will know who they are anyway. Even if they move to another town (which none of them seem inclined to do) if anyone starts going out as a vigilante there are plenty of records that will implicate them.
I really don’t have a ton to say about this episode specifically. I don’t think the story is working, but the cancelation news almost tells me that they know that. Like they’ve steered so far into this mess they had made that the only way out is a reboot. It’s not exactly bad, but it is a mess and I’m curious what they’re going to do about that in the time they have left, or if they’ll continue making it messier so the reboot goes over better.
(Hmm apparently it’s been canceled after next season, I think a lot of what I said here still applies but not exactly the way I was thinking when I wrote it. I can now put off too much speculation on this until the end of the season though.)
Arrow 7x16
I want to like this episode, I’m a sucker for a gang coming together story and this episode was nicely focused on its plot; but I didn’t like it. I don’t even have a lot to say on it because I feel like this future plot isn’t super well thought out, in addition to my continued belief that it ultimately doesn’t matter. I want to like it because it involves most of our familiar characters and the second generation is fine, but the world doesn’t work for me. Also, nobody points out that this is the Undertaking reversed and on a larger scale.
The Orville 2x11
I have a fair number of thoughts on this on, but they’re not really coming together. It may be partly that this episode is going for an emotional reaction that for one reason or another I’m not having. And the thoughtful components don’t seem to entirely know their final conclusion; which on one hand I do support as it leaves us to figure out how we feel about what was happening here, on the other hand since I don’t exactly how I feel maybe I need a yardstick to measure against.
So rather than getting into the thinky thoughts that I could have on the episode, I’m going to nitpick a couple points. For one, how/why did the time capsule from Earth end up on the Orville needing to go back to Earth? Also, considering that so much of what we see of human culture in this time, it’s hard to believe they would find 21st century humans all that different from themselves. Also, this episode even references that Gordon is an experienced holo-programmer , so he seems a little OOC when he seems inexperienced about going to program this new simulation. Plus there’s a lot of ways things happen here that don’t make a lot of sense with how it would make sense for the simulator to work.
Maybe that’s why I had some trouble processing it; it’s such a thinky episode, but it kept tripping over logic to get to those deeper thoughts.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 4x15
While we did get a reprise in last week’s episode, this is where they start in earnest it seems. There’s quite a few songs I’m expecting to hear revived by the end, so it’s time to get started. (If it were me I’ be tempted to close on ‘It was a Hit Show’ - instead of Shitshow - but realistically ‘West Covina’ is more likely reprised as the final number.)
That’s not the only thing that feels like we’re in the endgame now, we’re starting to wrap up a lot of the side plots, even if the Rebecca love plot feels like it needs a lot more time than it has left to play out. I wasn’t quite expecting them to bring back Audra like this, but I’m glad they did, it’s one of the things it’s good for Rebecca to come face to face with again. Paula is being set up for a pretty happy ending; Heather and Valencia are each moving forward with their own stories.
Arrow 7x17
I’ve had a really hard time deciding how I felt about this one, but I didn’t want to let it pass without some comment. The twist is pretty dumb; and while I couldn’t see the final turn ahead of time (because who would have expected that bad a plot twist) the betrayal was obvious a mile away. Also, adult-Emiko is being out acted by the 11 year old version.
That said, the return of the flashbacks was oddly welcome in place of the flashforwards. I prefer the characters in the flashforwards of course, but the flashbacks are usually the most effective when they have a clear point like these did. I almost think I wouldn’t have minded if they’d used the flashbacks a bit more through the season to give us more insight into Emiko as opposed to the future story.
This episode had some good moments, including some good use of people calling Oliver out on his character flaws that he by now clearly knows about but doesn’t know what to do about. The stuff between Oliver and Digg was especially poignant and quite welcome. But I also don’t know that in the end I particularly liked the episode that much.
Jane the Virgin 5x01
First off, I can’t say anything more important than Gina brought it all this episode, acting her heart out all the way through. I’m not certain I agree with all of her choices, or some of the narrative ones, but I cannot fault the acting. And it definitely made me tear up a few times.
Doing an amnesia story was the obvious route to go, and definitely set up last season with all the talk of telenovela amnesia so I’m hardly surprised that’s what we got. Plus, the love triangle would be over if he remembered; I’m pretty sure the love triangle is already over, they just don’t know it yet...well except Raf, who knew it the moment Rose told him Michael was alive and is now trying very hard to not know it. I predict a lot of regrets before this sorts itself out, but I would also be surprised if this show doesn’t wrap up in a mostly happy ending.