So many superheroes on TV. I couldn't be happier.
I got caught up in my knitting, so I haven't been able to get some thoughts down. My gosh, there are so many superhero shows on right now.
- I'm continued to be impressed with how good J'onn looks on Supergirl. He's completely CGI but there's so much detail for a TV budget. Not that they're going to have him in his Martian form all the time; the show doesn't have that much money. ;-)
The only thing I'm not loving right now is the unrequited love thing with Kara and Winn. Can the writers not believe that she can be friends with a guy without having him fall for her? And then there's Kara's thing for James. That's her other male friend saddled with a love interest angle. Just let her have a guy friend who's just a friend; they do exist. Plus, now they've introduced Cat's son as another potential love interest for Kara. Jeez, how many love interests does a woman need? I'm convinced they're going to turn Winn evil when his character doesn't work out. He's the son of Toyman; it's not completely farfetched.
- Speaking of love interests, Barry just lost another one. He's racking up ex-girlfriends just as fast as Ollie. What was really annoying was how Patty didn't figure out Barry was the Flash until the very end of their relationship. She's a police detective, for Pete's sake, and a really good one. She could have put the pieces together much earlier if the writers had let her. Now she's off to Midway City, but she knows Barry is the Flash. She could come back, but what's the point. It's just like Clark and Lana on Smallville. You know it won't work out because the hero is destined to be with a certain character. The writers seem intent on getting Barry and Iris together (going off the future newspaper they introduced in season one), but the show might pull an Arrow and decide that there's zero potential and chemistry between Barry and Iris. I just don't know if they would do that twice.
One weird thing the writers introduced last week was Jay's doppelganger for Earth-1. Turns out his doppelganger isn't called Jay Garrick. His name is Hunter Zolomon. Hunter Zolomon, who's a Flash villain in the comics. I'm totally confused. Are they setting up Earth-1 Jay to be a villain later on? Why else use the name? You don't just thrown in the name of a big Flash villain and not have it mean something. If they are setting up another Reverse-Flash/Zoom, which is who Zolomon is in the comics, then it kind of makes sense. You get to keep the actor who is currently portraying Jay without having Jay stick around for no good reason (since he belongs on Earth-2).
Or, and this seems really nuts, but maybe this is a hint that Jay is actually Zoom? Stay with me here. Who's to say that Zoom didn't kill Jay during their fight before the breaches opened up? Zoom steals Jay's identity, and face, and then gathers intel on Barry that way. It was just revealed that Jay is dying, and maybe that ties into Zoom's need to steal speed from speedster. It's the only way for him to stay alive. Have Zoom and Jay been seen in the same room on Earth-1? I can't remember. Not that it matters. Last season, Reverse Flash was able to be in two places at once thanks to a hologram and speed mirage thing. Then again, the whole stealing an identity and pretending to be that person thing was already done with Reverse Flash and Harrison Wells. You can't do twist again.
So who is Zoom? People keep saying Earth-2 Barry. There's also the notion that Zoom is Earth-2 Henry, Barry's dad. I kind of like this one since John Wesley Shipp was 1990 Flash and it'd be a funny reversal of that. Failing that, I would also go for an alternative Earth where Henry is the Flash. They've already established that the Arrow on Earth-2 is actually Robert Queen, Ollie's dad, so it's possible.
- Switching comic book universes for a sec. Agent Carter continues to amuse. I laughed so hard when Peggy and Jarvis are on the set of Howard's western. The sight of them trying to subtly inch their way out of the shot was perfect. Then Peggy gets in a nice line about a movie based on a comic book and is that really going to work? And when she says she'd rather play the lead than a barmaid after Howard offers her a bit part, Howard has a great line about how "audiences might not be ready for that". God, that was so meta and I love the writers for throwing it in.
Oh, and the lapel pin people, or the Arena Club. They are totally related to Hydra. The symbol on the lapel pin matches the symbol of a centuries old group that's been trying to bring home an Inhuman stranded on an alien planet and it was revealed that group eventually turned into Hydra. The guy buttering up Thompson is totally with Hydra and I bet this is how Hydra ends up infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. Or, if the group isn't Hydra, they have ties to Hydra and two merge at some point. But it makes the most sense. I wonder if the Agent Carter producers were told to include this proto-Hydra or was it always intended to show the group on both shows. Maybe it will all tie back into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. by the end of the season.
- Felicity finally got a code name on Arrow. Overwatch. Meh. She's totally Oracle, but, as Ollie said, that name is already taken. The line made me laugh, since it's the writers totally hanging a lantern on the fact that they can't use Oracle or any of the Batman family, but it also made me wonder. Does this mean that Batman is an established hero in the Arrowverse? It's hard to say when the shows haven't made any reference to Batman. We know Bruce Wayne exists, thanks to the future newspaper from The Flash, but there's been nothing about a bat motif vigilante in Gotham City. This seems like another Bat Embargo. The TV shows can't make any mention of Batman and only the smaller rogues from his gallery are allowed.
DC also seems to be forcing the show to kill off characters that will be appearing in the movies. Deadshot bit the bullet last season and last week they killed off Amanda Waller. Waller! She's a big deal in the DC universe. And the show just had some random bad guy shoot her in the head. Poor Katana, who seems to be coming back, is probably next on the chopping block. Stupid Suicide Squad movie. Why can't DC just roll the TV shows into the DC cinematic universe? It'd make thing so much easier for everyone. I don't know what they're going to do about the Flash, both the character and the show. Flash will be part of the Justice League movie and they've already cast Ezra Miller, but there's not way they would end the TV show just so there would be only one Flash.
- And finally, the second part of the Legends of Tomorrow pilot aired last week. I didn't enjoy it as much as last episode, but mostly because Rip wasn't that involved with the various plots. It was weird how he just disappears while everyone else is doing their stuff. Was he sulking aboard the Waverider? But it was still fun to see the rest of the team working together and getting to know each other. Snart and Ray get a moment and Jefferson gets to see that Stein was a pot head back in university, and did it seem like Snart was kind of flirting with Sara?
As for Kendra and Carter... Ugh. Carter dying I don't care about, but Kendra suddenly goes from hating him to "I didn't get to say good-bye." I thought they would work up to her liking him and then they would get together. It's cheap that she suddenly remembers her feelings for him and is super distraught when he dies. Oh sure, 4000 years together and all of that reincarnation nonsense, but I still don't agree. Personally, I would have killed off Carter just as Kendra was starting to like him. Him dying now, yes, it shows that Savage is a bad guy, but the audience didn't get time to know him that well, so it's going to be hard to miss him (and it sounds like nobody liked him to begin with).
Is the acting on the show really bad? I keep reading that the acting is not great. I'm less forgiving of bad writing, so I don't tend to focus on the acting. People need to remember that this is just the pilot. Most shows aren't awesome off the bat. I remember Arrow taking most of its first season before the show got good. I'm sure they made adjustments as episodes were filmed.
Random Damian Darhk appearance; it adds nothing to his narrative on Arrow, but it was still fun to see him in 1975. Love how Snart and Mick are more invested in the mission now because Savage beat up Mick. Mick doesn't like getting beat up and Snart doesn't like it when people beat up his friends. Aw, he does care. And I refuse to refer to Mick by his last name. When I think of Rory, I think of Rory on Doctor Who. I wonder if that messed up Arthur Darvill. He would hear Rory and respond. ;-) But think of the fanvid potential. You have someone saying Rory; you could easily tie the audio in with clips of Rory on Doctor Who. And man, those fight scenes. Everyone is in them, pretty much. That's a lot of people to coordinate.
When iZombie comes back from its winter break, that will be seven DC or DC imprinted shows on the air. That's nuts.
- I'm continued to be impressed with how good J'onn looks on Supergirl. He's completely CGI but there's so much detail for a TV budget. Not that they're going to have him in his Martian form all the time; the show doesn't have that much money. ;-)
The only thing I'm not loving right now is the unrequited love thing with Kara and Winn. Can the writers not believe that she can be friends with a guy without having him fall for her? And then there's Kara's thing for James. That's her other male friend saddled with a love interest angle. Just let her have a guy friend who's just a friend; they do exist. Plus, now they've introduced Cat's son as another potential love interest for Kara. Jeez, how many love interests does a woman need? I'm convinced they're going to turn Winn evil when his character doesn't work out. He's the son of Toyman; it's not completely farfetched.
- Speaking of love interests, Barry just lost another one. He's racking up ex-girlfriends just as fast as Ollie. What was really annoying was how Patty didn't figure out Barry was the Flash until the very end of their relationship. She's a police detective, for Pete's sake, and a really good one. She could have put the pieces together much earlier if the writers had let her. Now she's off to Midway City, but she knows Barry is the Flash. She could come back, but what's the point. It's just like Clark and Lana on Smallville. You know it won't work out because the hero is destined to be with a certain character. The writers seem intent on getting Barry and Iris together (going off the future newspaper they introduced in season one), but the show might pull an Arrow and decide that there's zero potential and chemistry between Barry and Iris. I just don't know if they would do that twice.
One weird thing the writers introduced last week was Jay's doppelganger for Earth-1. Turns out his doppelganger isn't called Jay Garrick. His name is Hunter Zolomon. Hunter Zolomon, who's a Flash villain in the comics. I'm totally confused. Are they setting up Earth-1 Jay to be a villain later on? Why else use the name? You don't just thrown in the name of a big Flash villain and not have it mean something. If they are setting up another Reverse-Flash/Zoom, which is who Zolomon is in the comics, then it kind of makes sense. You get to keep the actor who is currently portraying Jay without having Jay stick around for no good reason (since he belongs on Earth-2).
Or, and this seems really nuts, but maybe this is a hint that Jay is actually Zoom? Stay with me here. Who's to say that Zoom didn't kill Jay during their fight before the breaches opened up? Zoom steals Jay's identity, and face, and then gathers intel on Barry that way. It was just revealed that Jay is dying, and maybe that ties into Zoom's need to steal speed from speedster. It's the only way for him to stay alive. Have Zoom and Jay been seen in the same room on Earth-1? I can't remember. Not that it matters. Last season, Reverse Flash was able to be in two places at once thanks to a hologram and speed mirage thing. Then again, the whole stealing an identity and pretending to be that person thing was already done with Reverse Flash and Harrison Wells. You can't do twist again.
So who is Zoom? People keep saying Earth-2 Barry. There's also the notion that Zoom is Earth-2 Henry, Barry's dad. I kind of like this one since John Wesley Shipp was 1990 Flash and it'd be a funny reversal of that. Failing that, I would also go for an alternative Earth where Henry is the Flash. They've already established that the Arrow on Earth-2 is actually Robert Queen, Ollie's dad, so it's possible.
- Switching comic book universes for a sec. Agent Carter continues to amuse. I laughed so hard when Peggy and Jarvis are on the set of Howard's western. The sight of them trying to subtly inch their way out of the shot was perfect. Then Peggy gets in a nice line about a movie based on a comic book and is that really going to work? And when she says she'd rather play the lead than a barmaid after Howard offers her a bit part, Howard has a great line about how "audiences might not be ready for that". God, that was so meta and I love the writers for throwing it in.
Oh, and the lapel pin people, or the Arena Club. They are totally related to Hydra. The symbol on the lapel pin matches the symbol of a centuries old group that's been trying to bring home an Inhuman stranded on an alien planet and it was revealed that group eventually turned into Hydra. The guy buttering up Thompson is totally with Hydra and I bet this is how Hydra ends up infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. Or, if the group isn't Hydra, they have ties to Hydra and two merge at some point. But it makes the most sense. I wonder if the Agent Carter producers were told to include this proto-Hydra or was it always intended to show the group on both shows. Maybe it will all tie back into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. by the end of the season.
- Felicity finally got a code name on Arrow. Overwatch. Meh. She's totally Oracle, but, as Ollie said, that name is already taken. The line made me laugh, since it's the writers totally hanging a lantern on the fact that they can't use Oracle or any of the Batman family, but it also made me wonder. Does this mean that Batman is an established hero in the Arrowverse? It's hard to say when the shows haven't made any reference to Batman. We know Bruce Wayne exists, thanks to the future newspaper from The Flash, but there's been nothing about a bat motif vigilante in Gotham City. This seems like another Bat Embargo. The TV shows can't make any mention of Batman and only the smaller rogues from his gallery are allowed.
DC also seems to be forcing the show to kill off characters that will be appearing in the movies. Deadshot bit the bullet last season and last week they killed off Amanda Waller. Waller! She's a big deal in the DC universe. And the show just had some random bad guy shoot her in the head. Poor Katana, who seems to be coming back, is probably next on the chopping block. Stupid Suicide Squad movie. Why can't DC just roll the TV shows into the DC cinematic universe? It'd make thing so much easier for everyone. I don't know what they're going to do about the Flash, both the character and the show. Flash will be part of the Justice League movie and they've already cast Ezra Miller, but there's not way they would end the TV show just so there would be only one Flash.
- And finally, the second part of the Legends of Tomorrow pilot aired last week. I didn't enjoy it as much as last episode, but mostly because Rip wasn't that involved with the various plots. It was weird how he just disappears while everyone else is doing their stuff. Was he sulking aboard the Waverider? But it was still fun to see the rest of the team working together and getting to know each other. Snart and Ray get a moment and Jefferson gets to see that Stein was a pot head back in university, and did it seem like Snart was kind of flirting with Sara?
As for Kendra and Carter... Ugh. Carter dying I don't care about, but Kendra suddenly goes from hating him to "I didn't get to say good-bye." I thought they would work up to her liking him and then they would get together. It's cheap that she suddenly remembers her feelings for him and is super distraught when he dies. Oh sure, 4000 years together and all of that reincarnation nonsense, but I still don't agree. Personally, I would have killed off Carter just as Kendra was starting to like him. Him dying now, yes, it shows that Savage is a bad guy, but the audience didn't get time to know him that well, so it's going to be hard to miss him (and it sounds like nobody liked him to begin with).
Is the acting on the show really bad? I keep reading that the acting is not great. I'm less forgiving of bad writing, so I don't tend to focus on the acting. People need to remember that this is just the pilot. Most shows aren't awesome off the bat. I remember Arrow taking most of its first season before the show got good. I'm sure they made adjustments as episodes were filmed.
Random Damian Darhk appearance; it adds nothing to his narrative on Arrow, but it was still fun to see him in 1975. Love how Snart and Mick are more invested in the mission now because Savage beat up Mick. Mick doesn't like getting beat up and Snart doesn't like it when people beat up his friends. Aw, he does care. And I refuse to refer to Mick by his last name. When I think of Rory, I think of Rory on Doctor Who. I wonder if that messed up Arthur Darvill. He would hear Rory and respond. ;-) But think of the fanvid potential. You have someone saying Rory; you could easily tie the audio in with clips of Rory on Doctor Who. And man, those fight scenes. Everyone is in them, pretty much. That's a lot of people to coordinate.
When iZombie comes back from its winter break, that will be seven DC or DC imprinted shows on the air. That's nuts.