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matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of DC Super Hero Girls, Supergirl, The Flash, Black Lightning, Arrow, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow, Lucifer, Unikitty, Marvel's Spider-Man, Mickey Mouse, The X-Files, Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel, and The Blacklist.
Upcoming reviews include Twin Peaks: The Return (Blu-Ray), Doctor Who: Series 9, Doctor Who: Series 10, Class: Series 1, The X-Files: Season 10, Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Blu-Ray), Ant-Man (Blu-Ray), Captain America: Civil War (Blu-Ray), Doctor Strange (Blu-Ray), Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (Blu-Ray), Spider-Man: Homecoming (Blu-Ray), Luke Cage: Season 1, Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 2, Marvel's Agent Carter: Season 1, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Blu-Ray), X-Men: Days Of Future Past: The Rogue Cut, Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse (Blu-Ray), Logan, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 1, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 2, Zootopia, Moana (Blu-Ray), Tangled: Before Ever After (DVD), DuckTales: Woo-oo (DVD), Inside Out (Blu-Ray), The Good Dinosaur (Blu-Ray), Finding Dory (Blu-Ray), Cars 3 (Blu-Ray), Once Upon A Time: Season 5, The BFG, Tomorrowland, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Blu-Ray), Star Wars Rebels: Season 2, Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales, Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures: Season One, Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow (DVD), Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (Blu-Ray), Static Shock: Season 3, Justice League Action: Superpowers Unite!, Teen Titans Go!: Get In Pig Out, Teen Titans Go!: Recess Is Over, DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games, LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain, The LEGO Batman Movie, Batman Vs. Two-Face, Scooby Doo! & Batman: The Brave And The Bold, Batman: Gotham By Gaslight, Suicide Squad (Blu-Ray), Wonder Woman (Blu-Ray), The Flash: Season 2, The Flash: Season 3, Arrow: Season 4, Arrow: Season 5, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 1, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 2, Supergirl: Season 1, Supergirl: Season 2 Vixen: The Movie, Gotham: Season 2, Gotham: Season 3, iZombie: Season 1, iZombie: Season 2, iZombie: Season 3, Lucifer: Season 1, Lucifer: Season 2, Samurai Jack: Season 5, Be Cool Scooby Doo!: Spooky Kooky Fun!, Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Prod.: Hare-Raising Tales, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies: Extended Edition, The Simpsons: Season 18, Red Dwarf XII, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Beyond The Known Universe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Earth's Last Stand, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Super Shredder, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Final Chapters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half-Shell Heroes: Blast To The Past, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows, Power Rangers (2017), Power Rangers: Zeo: Volume 2, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Power Rangers Turbo: Volume 1, Power Rangers: Turbo: Volume 2, Power Rangers In Space Volume 1, Power Rangers In Space: Volume 2, Power Rangers Samurai: The Complete Season, Power Rangers: Megaforce: The Complete Season, Power Rangers: Super Megaforce: The Complete Season, Transformers: Robots In Disguise: Season 1, Heroes Reborn: The Complete Series, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 1: Water, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 2: Earth, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 3: Fire, The Legend Of Korra: The Complete Series, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Seasons 1 & 2, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Seasons 3 and a Half-ish, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Season 5 & Some More Of 4, Haven: Season 5 - Vol. 1, Haven: The Final Season, The Dark Tower, IT, Under The Dome: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 2, Sleepy Hollow: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 4, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 2, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 3, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 4, Airplane! / Airplane II: The Sequel: Double Feature, The Jurassic Park Trilogy, Jurassic World, Back To The Future: The Complete Animated Series, Shaun The Sheep Movie (Blu-Ray), Shaun The Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas, 12 Monkeys: Season 1, 12 Monkeys: Season 2, Grimm: Season 4, Grimm: Season 5, Grimm: Season 6, The Wonder Years: Season 4, The Wonder Years: Season 5, The Wonder Years: Season 6, The Peanuts Movie, Peanuts By Schulz: Snoopy Tales, Peanuts By Schulz: Go Team Go!, Peanuts By Schulz: School Days, Bob's Burgers: Season 5, Home Movies: Seasons 1 & 2, Home Movies: Season 3 & 4, Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, Community: Season 6, Danger Mouse: The Complete Series, Game Of Thrones: Season 5, and Game of Thrones: Season 6.
Star Trek: Discovery "Will You Take My Hand?"
That was a lot of fun. Michelle Yoeh seems to be having a blast with Mirror Georgiou, and the thing I like best about her is her warped sense of humor. What amazes me is that she threatens Burnham for trying to expose her on the bridge. I was like "Dude, you were doing that to yourself. You are a crazy person." Even Lorca had enough wisdom in him to alter his behavior around those he was trying to trick. Georgiou is just REALLY bad at spyjinxs.
I believe this was the first Star Trek series we ever saw a team "power walk" through. It was kind of awesome.
I was a surprised by the Enterprise at the end, but it's ten years before Kirk. They'll need to recast Pike and Spock, but everyone else was only seen once, and we don't really care if they are recast. Even Number One, memorable as she was, was not memorable enough to ever return.
Is it too much to hope for Greenwood or Quinto? I actually don't think it is. Both of those actors have done a TON of TV stuff, and are more known for their TV roles than their movie ones. I hope they wrote that ending after getting a positive response from Quinto and Greenwood.
Honestly, while I don't think that bombing Q'onos would have solved anything, I think Burnham's plan was equally dumb. But whereas that was too harsh, this is too soft. Giving that power to the female Klingon prisoner is pretty stupid. There is no guarantee she will be on their side when they free her. She hasn't even been on their side while she was a prisoner. Yeah, now she Tyler to guide her, but before he offered to go with her, Burnham didn't even factor that into her entire plan. And considering the Klingons are a race of beings that will slaughter a family, sit down and eat their dinner, and laugh about it, Burnham is crazy to have the optimism about the situation she does.
But she turns out to be right. Which is absolutely crazy. It's absolutely Star Trek, but like many Star Trek happy endings, it is not the least bit credible.
For the record, Clint Howard has only gotten grosser and more obnoxious with age. There is something seriously wrong when someone as grody as him gets cast at ALL in Hollywood. He is far too ugly to play the old, skeevy, dirtbag he is playing. Which is saying something.
The reason the Enterprise surprised me is because I was convinced the distress call would be from Our Universe's real Captain Lorca. Honestly, I would have liked that better than the Enterprise. Because as much as I love this show so far, I am legitimately worried about them messing that up. If it had been Lorca I would have simply said "Cool!" with stupid grin on my face. As of now, I have concerns.
But that was a great ride. Maybe not the definitive finale we were hoping far, but it certainly gave us much more wrap-up in the season than most Star Trek cliffhangers ever did. They wrapped up the season and put the twist in the last scene. Which is actually the correct way to do it. As much as I loved Next Gen, we should NOT have been traumatized by The Best Of Both Worlds as much as we were. It was just super unfair even if it's awesome and twisted in hindsight. This is the actual correct way to do a cliffhanger in a season finale.
Pretty solid season finale. ****1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls "Ring Me Maybe: Part Four"
Nonsense. Kittens, and butterfly constructs, and oh look, Sinestro has heart underwear. Like I said. Nonsense. *.
DC Super Hero Girls "Fish Out Of Water: Part One"
Miss Martian is cute.
I like Mera so far.
I don't like Firefly's design.
Good episode. ***1/2.
Supergirl "Both Sides Now"
It's official. I hate Alex. And I wasn't even aware I did until this episode.
I was extremely disturbed that the DEO used an armed SWAT team to bust down Julia's door, and pointed their guns are her, despite the fact that at that point, she hadn't committed any crimes. The worst thing she did was be in a dream. That's disturbing enough.
But later on, even if Supergirl is wrong about Julia (and she's not), Alex is the worst person ever for undercutting everything Supergirl is trying to do in her interrogation. Supergirl is trying to build trust, and every time a crack forms in Julia, Alex steps in and threatens to dissect her. I mean, seriously? Dissection? I think Alex is a very warped person if her perspective is that Purity is evil and she is not. That was absolutely sick. I think both J'onn and Kara should have been personally offended by that. J'onn didn't hear it, but if I were Kara I'd be like, "Is that what you think should happen to aliens deep down? Have you always thought that? Are I and J'onn some of "the good ones" who don't deserve that? Be specific in which aliens do, please. And most importantly, how long have to been a total genocidal monster who supports Nazi tactics? Just curious." The fact that Kara takes Alex's side at one point after that shows the writers are entirely fudged up.
And she's all, "We tried it your way, now we're doing it mine." No, we didn't try it Kara's way, Alex, because you kept sabotaging her. It is far easier to blow up an interrogation on purpose, than to actually get someone on your side by working at it. Alex sucks at her job.
And it never occurs to Alex that Purity might have have a hidden agenda in claiming Julia was act? Because if Julia is NOT an act, that means she can be reached. And that's bad for both Purity and Reign. It never occurred to Alex she's lying about that because it's in her best interest to lie about that?
I think it strikes me as a bit of a cop-out at this stage of the game to reveal that Mon-El's marriage to Imra was arranged. That should have come up immediately. Specifically, that should have been the first thing Mon-El told Kara to make her feel better. But this reeks of a retcon.
J'onn is right about something. There is nothing wrong or bad about Mon-El's romantic feelings towards Kara. It's keeping them from Imra that is wrong and bad. And that is very wise advice. I don't agree (at all) that couples need to share everything with each other. But this is clearly eating Mon-El alive, and that's the type of thing that needs to be shared.
Lena seems to be trying to normalize Sam's actions with Ruby, but the kid is smart enough to know better. It is NOT all right. There is something very wrong with her mother, and the other adults refuse to accept that.
Lena claims in the very last scene that she knows what is wrong with Sam, and that she knows how to help her. Which raises three alarming questions for me: 1. Does she? 2. Can she? 3. And will she? The fact that the jury is actually out on ALL three of those questions concerns me.
Is it possible Imra's actual secret involves bringing Kara back to the future? Is that why she didn't tell Mon-El? Because he'd object? Has she decided to let him in on it because she assumes that his rekindled feelings would make it so he'd WANT her in the future? My bet is that the answer to all of these questions is "Yes.".
The episode sucked so much because Alex does. *.
The Flash "True Colors"
What does the episode title have to do with anything?
I'm glad Barry is out of prison, but it strikes me as incredibly odd that they had to go through all of those supernatural hoops to "clear" him in the first place. The case itself was hardly rock solid. If you need a plastic guy to impersonate the dude you murdered with all of the evidence that Barry was actually framed in play, you might be a bad lawyer.
Speaking of Cecile, I just remembered something. Devoe now has psychic powers. I thought that was an insurmountable advantage until I remembered that Cecile just got them too. They better defeat Devoe before the baby comes. Because I think that will be the key.
Richard Brooks was so much fun when he was playing Ralph. The guy is so talented. He deserved a much bigger career than the one he got.
I was sad what happened to Hazard and the other prisoners, but it was inevitable. Simply because they found out Barry was the Flash, and anyone who ever does pretty much has to go. Amunet is very lucky she didn't get that far, or she'd be dead too.
Speaking of which, I'm wondering why Wolf didn't tell Amunet Barry was the Flash. That's something she probably would have wanted to know ahead of time, especially since he himself hinted she'd see Barry as valuable. The only reason I can think of is that the producers wanted to use her again, and if she learned the identity, she'd have to be killed off. But I assume she would have paid top-dollar for the Flash, if only to kill him rather than sell him. Wolf completely missed out on a huge financial opportunity.
I am unsure why Devoe still has psychic powers if he is in Hazard, but that's bad. If he can absorb the powers of everyone he takes over and keep them, we are in trouble. Hazard was probably the most powerful and useful Meta on that bus. The only hope Team Flash has is that when Devoe next switches bodies, that power doesn't switch over too. But it's the fact that he/she's still psychic which worries me.
Wasn't this the exact same judge who told Barry at sentencing that he had never seen a more heartless or coldblooded killer in all his time on the bench? In Central Freaking City? I hope he now feels precisely like the dumbass he is.
There should have been a last scene of Barry leaving his cell. Maybe there was, and it was deleted, and will be on the Blu-Ray, but just based on the fact that it was Henry's cell, and father and son had both carved their names on the same wall, there should have been wrap-up about that.
Fun episode. I'm glad Barry's out of jail. It wasn't too soon, and it didn't last too long. I was worried that he was going to be stuck there till the end of the season. I am mostly happy with that. ****.
Black Lightning "Black Jesus"
I feel like the last ten minutes of that were not very strong. I was very surprised when the episode ended when it did, because Arrowverse shows usually build to that.
I love the idea that Tobias Whale is a black albino. It will make rewatching the season a lot of fun. I will undoubtedly see his racial comments entirely differently now. I feel like I should have figured that out before his sister showed up.
I think his sister's plan to turn Khalil is a good one... Or it would be if Tobias had let her in on a crucial fact: He was the one who actually shot Khalil. I assumed if she had known that she would have done something entirely different and not involved Khalil at ALL. She doesn't strike me as stupid, while Tobias does. And it's because Tobias is stupid which is why he's dumb because he never told her he was the shooter. Because she'd be smart enough to know that the truth would actually come out to Khalil someday, and there is no amount of polishing that particular turd. If Sister Whale had known Tobias was the one who shot Khalil, she would have kept him as far away from any plan to turn the city against Black Lightning as possible.
Do you know what my favorite moment in the episode was? It might have been my favorite moment on the series so far. But the amused look on Cress Williams' face as Anissa talks up Black Lightning at the Henderson's dinner table was absolutely delightful. He's about to crack up, but for obvious reasons cannot. He wants to punch the air so badly, but he can't. It was very endearing. But it is obvious he has never been prouder Anissa was his daughter.
Did Gambi actually recognize Anissa on the footage? Is that why he went to the crime scene? TBD...
Here is a tough opinion: I don't think a kid who goes to school high and then attacks the principle is someone who shouldn't be expelled and not be able to go to college. Jefferson is pretty much the most amazing principle ever, but I saw the ending coming, and the thing I regret most about it was that Jefferson essentially wasted his entire political capital on that kid for nothing. The episode tries to play it like Bernard is going to get better, but even if he is, it is clear to me that Jefferson made the wrong choice in saving him rather than the future kids he could have wound up saving, who would have deserved his help.
Don't worry, Anissa. I'm sure Black Lightning accidentally nearly killed some dudes when he started too.
I love Two-Bit's negotiation with Black Lightning. Even if he wasn't Jefferson's friend, if I were Black Lightning, I would not have called the cops either. He argues the unfairness of the 3 strikes law. It's interesting that as he's negotiating whether or not he deserves to be knocked out, he gets on a bit of a political soapbox. If 3 strikes laws were applied fairly, and only counted towards really bad offenses, they'd suck, but they'd have a value as a deterrent. As it stands, a black man can spend his entire life in prison for being caught smoking weed three times. Two-Bit being a dealer of a dangerous drug is clearly way worse than that. But I also don't think it's something worth a life sentence.
If Black Lightning had a better sense of humor, he would have allowed Two-Bit the selfie. It's hilarious that even the criminals love Black Lightning, and what he represents to the community. But Jefferson is probably thinking that the less footage of him that is out there, the less likely he is to get caught. But if he had posed, I wouldn't have faulted him. It was pretty funny.
What was Lady Eve doing to that kid on the table? Scary.
Good for the first three quarters, and sort of limped out at the end. ***1/2.
Black Lightning "And Then The Devil Brought The Plague: The Book Of Green Light"
Mixed feelings. I liked some of it. Which is more than I can usually say for most genre shows I watch.
I like getting some backstory for Tobias. I don't sympathize with him exactly, but I kind of understand why someone who is neither considered black or white would wind up so damaged. The envelope with the dust in it also explicitly says that Lady Eve thinks of him as a non-person. I'm a little surprised he used to be a politician. The episode treated him as if no-one ever liked him.
I like the way Lynn diffused the lesbian mothers, and the fact that her and Jefferson pretty much had them eating out of their hands by the end of the day. I agree with Lynn that Jennifer needed to be punished, but I'm amused that Jefferson cannot help himself giving her affirmation over her fighting skills, even when he should not be encouraging her. Which leads me to the bad thing.
Jefferson telling Jennifer to walk away was rich consider he threatened Gambi, and went out anyways over his objections, only to have a heart attack or whatever and get his butt kicked. And by the way, I don't know what I was expecting from Joey Toledo, but just based upon all the build-up the show did with his name, I expected more than a ratty looking guy. The episode would have done better to show him and Tobias at the beginning instead of speaking of Joey in fearful, hushed tones. Now it's a let-down.
Gambi is not blameless. He should have told Jefferson about Tobias immediately. He's right that Jefferson probably would have overreacted, but it's not like he didn't already do that anyways.
The mixed bag thing is Anissa's costume. It's an eyesore. And yet, I feel superhero shows and movies should have more garish and loud costumes than they do. Those are the only kinds regular people like Anissa would be able to afford. The problem is that it's rubber, so she looks like a clown dominatrix. And I don't care if she gave a fake name, she's crazy to tell the tailor what she actually wanted the costume for. Because now he knows her face, and now he'll probably become a target because of that. I want garish cosplay costumes. But I would like them if the material was more like Adam West and Christoper's Reeves tights. There has to be a middle ground somewhere. I hate superhero costumes with dull, muted tones. But still, this was a bit much.
Do you know what superhero costumes I liked? The ones the Royal Family wore in the first episode of Inhumans. They were literally the only thing about that show I liked. Most people who watched that show had it worse than me, because they too liked nothing else about the show, but also thought the costumes sucked. But that's the middle ground between this and the breathable fabric costumes from the Snyderverse and the Arrowverse.
All right, but not as good as the previous weeks. ***.
Arrow "The Devil's Greatest Trick"
Good and bad. Good because the 45 minutes plus commercials I just watched was pretty boss. Bad because I am now pretty sure the rest of the season is gonna suck.
I understand why they made the traitor Diaz. The audience has no attachment to him the way they do Laurel or Anatoly. Which is precisely why the betrayal should have been one of those two. It's a nothing twist, and means we are trading one no-name Big Bad for another. Could you imagine the stakes if Dinah had been right, and the mastermind of season was Laurel Lance? Not only would that rip a hole in the foundation of Team Arrow and The Outsiders, but what the hell would Quentin do?
By the way, Quentin as Annie Wilkes is stupid. The one thing about the episode I didn't like.
What I like about the scene of Cayden and Oliver in the end before Diaz comes in to kill him, is that Cayden is pretty much acknowledging his son would be disgusted with his actions. Especially since he was doing them in his name. I would love the Punisher to have a similar epiphany, but he seems more less self-aware and much more evil than Cayden James.
Am I the only one who wants to smack William? Because he became in this episode what we hate about kid characters. Rushing into danger and causing all sorts of unneeded complications for the heroes. It worked out okay dramawise, as his and Oliver's bonding is the thing that caused James to surrender, but once a kid character is the annoying Mary Sue, they cannot stop being the annoying Mary Sue. They are literally that forever. And he wasn't until this episode, which bums me out.
Where was Felicity when she should have been watching him? I know she was busy, but I hope Oliver screams at her later.
The new chief of police is on Diaz's payroll? The one who Quentin vouched for? Suddenly his seeing the good in a monster like Laurel makes sense. This episode pretty much made him the series chump.
Man, I loved the episode. Me enjoying this season was nice as long as it lasted. I don't expect a ton of positive reviews for the rest of the year. ****1/2.
DC's Legends Of Tomorrow "Daddy Darhkest"
Before we get into the Constantine and Snart awesomeness, I would be remiss to point out that this episode is exactly why I hated Damien Darhk back on Arrow, and why I never for a second bought the show trying to make him into a lovable goofball in season two of Legends. I cannot really excuse him selling his daughter to Mollus. But on the other hand, he's evil. He values different things that I do. I can almost forgive that.
But then he sends the daughter right back into the same insane asylum she was tortured in, and he is one of the worst people who ever existed in this specific franchise. I hate him so much.
Back to Constantine. FINALLY. Constantine's appearance on Arrow was great, but it WAS just Constantine guest starring on Arrow. That's all there was to it. Here, the entire show took on his show's sensibility for the entire episode. I swear the opening scene was something EXACTLY out of the NBC show. It was like the show was back on the air for that scene, and much of the rest of the episode. That was not the case on Arrow. They even messed up the main titles to look like John's show. I hear reports that the upcoming Constantine cartoon won't necessarily be in continuity with the rest of the NBC show. Which is weird, because just based on this episode, the rest of the Arrowverse IS. I never quite got that part of the cartoon's upcoming description. At all.
I like that Mick only has admirable leadership abilities when he wants you to leave him alone.
Television and society have changed. Even five years ago, Mick would have been portrayed as homophobic and intolerant of Leo's gayness. Instead he's just uncomfortable, has trouble expressing it, but still gives the big bear hug at the end. I feel sad at how far our country has moved backwards over the past two years, but the fact that Mick is confused rather than cruel means there ARE some things that are better now, even if current politics are worse. This kind of positive change in society happens regardless of politics. Because it happens, politics can get fudged up by people who oppose things like this. But this being normal in society now means it will always be normal. And that's a good thing.
Speaking of Snart, I was super disappointed he only stuck around for one episode. I was hoping he would be back permanently, and if not, I was hoping he'd at least be contracted for a few a episodes. A bit of a let-down.
Here is a failing of the episode: Were I Nate, after what happened with Amaya and her granddaughter, I would be super pissed. I would be screaming at Amaya at the top of my lungs. I'd be smashing plates. And Nate doesn't comment on how fudged up that was, what she basically let happen to him, as if it wasn't the single worst betrayal she has ever committed. That bother me. It bothers me because this suggests the show is not that well-written and trades good drama for extra scenes of Ray and Nora in the café.
Speaking of badly written (and the café), I feel having Ray comment about the sugar was something that made me deeply dislike him as a character in a way I never did before. They did it to show Ray is square and straight-laced and conservative. But that poor girl just got out of an insane asylum. This is literally the first treat she has had in years, and Ray is trying to take it away from her. It not only strikes me as unnecessarily controlling of a person Ray has no actual authority over, but there is an antifeminist subtext of Ray denying this young woman her own agency. And there is no logical reason for Ray to do that other than the writers wanted to contrast his personality. Instead, him trying to run the life of traumatized and violated girl makes me absolutely detest him. That was easily the worst scene in the episode.
Constantine is smoking, which shows the producers have been given the proper leeway, and the fact that he is smoking much more than he was on his old show, is good for creative freedom. But nothing says creative freedom more than the fact that this episode is literally the first time the character's bisexuality can be explored. NBC never let the producers do that.
I disliked him and Sara having sex though. It's not that I could never ship the characters, I just hate the subtext and reasons as to why they did it. Sara asks before she falls into John's arms if they are both really that damaged, and that was the vibe I got from the scene. It was damaged and depressing and made me feel bad. Which is not something a sex scene between two hot actors should do. Or at least not outside of an indie film or FX cable drama. It bummed me out.
Interestingly, John says he works best alone, and he does, as he seems to have finally scared off the other cast members from the original series. But I think the difference between Constantine in The Arrowverse and Constantine on NBC, is that John has people who like him here. Who don't shut the door in his face upon seeing him again. It is a very serious contrast to see how nicely Sara treats when literally every single character on the old show Constantine was ever reunited with either hated or feared him. Maybe the way the Arrowverse is doing it is not in the spirit of the character. But I like it for the character more. I do.
My biggest regret of the episode was that is was only one episode. I would have liked to have seen John and Leo stick around for a bit. ****.
Lucifer "My Brother's Keeper"
I had some objections to that watching it, but they were mostly addressed by the end of the episode.
Objection the First:
I objected to Linda turning away Charlotte at her office. But the episode wisely pointed at that Lucifer's mother tried to kill her. But essentially the real reason I objected to her being turned away is because, professionally speaking, Linda is the only person who CAN help Charlotte Richards. She is the only human on Earth who knows she isn't crazy. That is why Lucifer sent her to her.
Resolution Verdict:
Resolved. Linda decides to go to Charlotte, and offer her the help she needs. Probably because she realized what I just said was true.
Objection The Second:
Lucifer notes that Ella's brother would be in jail if any other cop than Chloe had handled the case. I objected to that idea because that is not a good thing. There should not be two sets of rules for people related to cops.
Resolution Verdict:
Resolved. Lucifer thinks the same as me, and caught the brother in the act, of stealing diamonds and was right all along. Some people might think that Lucifer letting him go is exactly the problem with the police department, but the thing is, Lucifer is the actual Devil. The brother is not off the hook. If anything, he's in even more trouble than if he had been sent to prison for a murder he didn't commit. Murder jail terms last decades. Hell is forever.
Objection The Third:
Pierce threatens Amenadiels' life, and when he doesn't budge, points a gun at an innocent stranger. Finally, he unloads the gun into the air in a crowded room, but the police are never called, and he never has to answer for that.
Resolution Verdict:
Unresolved. What I disliked about this not being resolved is that is very easily could have been. Amenadiel warns Lucifer that Pierce is dangerous, but Lucifer says, "That's the point of teaming up with him." But if Lucifer knew the specific things that Cain did, like threatening to kill his brother, and then threatening the life of an innocent person, I doubt Luci would still Team Cain. Lucifer is not only helping Pierce because he wants to anger his father. That is the excuse. But in reality, part of him likes and sympathizes with him. That might change if he learned Pierce threatened to murder an innocent person because he didn't get his way.
Other things of note:
Speaking of innocence, Lucifer describes Charlotte Richards as "innocent woman". That is thought provoking to me, because she DID wind up in Hell. Lucifer has stated that people only go to Hell if they personally believe they deserve it deep down. Him calling Charlotte innocent suggests he knows and believes many people in Hell don't actually belong there.
The dumbest thing in the episode was Lucifer talking about brothers who refuse to help you murder someone. How is it that Lucifer can say something like that in a roomful of cops and everybody just instantly drops it without further questions? That is one of the things I hate about the show, and one of the flaws built into the conceit of the show. People are dumber than they need to be, because if they weren't, they'd believe Lucifer, and the show would be over. I understand this perfectly well, and get the rationale here. That doesn't mean I have to like it.
For the record, Pierce was insightful to point out that Amenadiel tried to kill Lucifer. Lucifer has never done that to Amenadiel, which is another thing that states Lucifer is a more virtuous person than his brother.
Above average episode. ***1/2.
Unikitty "Kitty Court"
For some reason, this episode depressed me. It's a really good thing that Master Frown was faking, because the entire justice system in Unikitty's kingdom is entirely fudged up. I'd hate to think what would happen when a sane person like say, Richard actually had a legitimate grievance with somebody.
I liked the wheel spin of the judge though. The gag was very similar to the Bender / Robot Devil joke on Futurama. Although I think the outcome was much less funny here.
I was more cringing that laughing throughout this. **1/2.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Spider-Island: Part Three"
It's fun to see Peter allowed to do superheroics without his costume. I also like that he's annoyed that everyone else has biological webs while he's stuck with web-shooters.
I notice that Peter marked the spider drawing on Anya's shoulder rather than her chest. Good boundaries for Peter there.
When I heard what Monster-Gwen was doing to Kraven, at first it sounded far more gruesome than merely wrapping him in the web.
If Kraven figures out who Peter is, that's bad, because he's likely to do it on camera.
Good third part. ***1/2.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Spider-Island: Part Four"
That was totally boss. Best episode so far.
So much happened and so much of it was awesome.
But it's a total black mark against Peter that that was the first time he thought to check on Aunt May. She hasn't been on the show enough and that was a case in point.
Miles does not speak in this episode because then the writers would have to pay his voice actor.
Awesome. *****.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Spider-Island: Part Five"
Gee, Harry, I can't for one SECOND imagine why Peter never wanted to tell you he was Spider-Man. It's a total mystery there.
This show cheaping out on the voice actors is annoying. Not only should Gwen have had a speaking part at the end. But they clearly animated Flash saying something upon being changed back, but were too cheap not only to hire his actor, but to change the animation so it didn't look like he was speaking. Amateur hour on Team Spider-Man.
I loved Part 4 but the last underwhelmed completely. ***.
Mickey Mouse "Year Of The Dog"
The animation was especially tight in this episode, and the ending was unusually sweet. I also love that Mickey hums his end title theme tune as he sets out the meal.
Great episode. ****.
The X-Files "Kitten"
That was a very interesting episode, that sort of solidified the idea that Skinner is on Mulder and Scully's side, and always has been. I think Skinner's speech at the end is the thing that convinced Mulder of that too. Honestly? That was Mitch Pileggi's best performance on the series. From some reason all of the X-Files actors are better now than they were before the show came back. But Pileggi is like to the Nth degree. He's amazing now.
It's interesting to see Haley Joel Osment as an adult. He gained a LOT of weight, which might be why he doesn't get cast very much. But he's still a talented actor so that strikes me as a shame. He was good here as both the father and the son.
Other than the gas there wasn't really a supernatural element to the show this week. The X-Files straddles the line between science fiction and fact, and despite the fact that the gas is kind of a crazy idea, the show veered closer to fact than usual.
It amazes me that Kirsch actually believe Mulder and Scully know more than they do. On the one hand, it's a nice, unearned compliment to their skills as rabble-rousing FBI agents. But on the other hand, it shows why Kirsch was so ineffective and bad at his job on the original series. He never had an accurate read of any of the cases. Scully was a skeptic. Kirsch was simply the guy who got everything wrong.
But the idea that Skinner gave up a promising career to throw in with Mulder and Scully holds up to scrutiny. I loved hearing Kirsch tell them that, and their surprised reaction to what should have been a no-brainer. But The FBI's Most Unwanted? Skinner is an equal part of that, and always has been. Mulder is considered a dead end at the FBI, so it surprises me that Mulder and Scully never bothered to wonder why Skinner is still their boss after all this. Food for thought.
Good episode this week. ****.
Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel "Tough Love"
"This whirlwind really blows!" Ooh! Spicy talk.
Speaking of which, I love how the Rangers are making fun of the fact that "Change is in the spice of life" is not an actual saying. That is so dumb.
The design on the monster was pretty cool.
Not bad. ***.
The Blacklist "The Invisible Hand"
This episode mostly contained criminals in way over their heads. The stuff with Liz and Oleander and The Invisible Hand stuff didn't interest me too much. But the stuff with Red and Anthony was great.
I love's Red's quip that a person must be extremely confident in their genitals to name themselves Big Willie. I kept wondering why Red was trying to teach this guy good leadership after he accidentally killed the wrong guy. It's because he wants to hire him.
And even if he's technically using Anthony, it not like he didn't pay for the procedure. Anthony is dumb though to get involved with something like that when he has no idea what he's doing. Next thing you know he's looking at severed body parts and puking in the corner.
The notion that the cop investigating Liz for murder being in on Tom's death annoys me. Did they HAVE to make him a bad guy? Liz DID kill a guy and cover it up. I would actually like to see the drama of that played out, but if the cops investigating it are dirty, it's almost as if the murder was justified. And I'm not cool with that.
See you after the Olympics, Red. ***1/2.
Upcoming reviews include Twin Peaks: The Return (Blu-Ray), Doctor Who: Series 9, Doctor Who: Series 10, Class: Series 1, The X-Files: Season 10, Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Blu-Ray), Ant-Man (Blu-Ray), Captain America: Civil War (Blu-Ray), Doctor Strange (Blu-Ray), Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (Blu-Ray), Spider-Man: Homecoming (Blu-Ray), Luke Cage: Season 1, Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 2, Marvel's Agent Carter: Season 1, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Blu-Ray), X-Men: Days Of Future Past: The Rogue Cut, Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse (Blu-Ray), Logan, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 1, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Season 2, Zootopia, Moana (Blu-Ray), Tangled: Before Ever After (DVD), DuckTales: Woo-oo (DVD), Inside Out (Blu-Ray), The Good Dinosaur (Blu-Ray), Finding Dory (Blu-Ray), Cars 3 (Blu-Ray), Once Upon A Time: Season 5, The BFG, Tomorrowland, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Blu-Ray), Star Wars Rebels: Season 2, Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales, Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures: Season One, Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow (DVD), Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (Blu-Ray), Static Shock: Season 3, Justice League Action: Superpowers Unite!, Teen Titans Go!: Get In Pig Out, Teen Titans Go!: Recess Is Over, DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games, LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain, The LEGO Batman Movie, Batman Vs. Two-Face, Scooby Doo! & Batman: The Brave And The Bold, Batman: Gotham By Gaslight, Suicide Squad (Blu-Ray), Wonder Woman (Blu-Ray), The Flash: Season 2, The Flash: Season 3, Arrow: Season 4, Arrow: Season 5, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 1, DC's Legends Of Tomorrow: Season 2, Supergirl: Season 1, Supergirl: Season 2 Vixen: The Movie, Gotham: Season 2, Gotham: Season 3, iZombie: Season 1, iZombie: Season 2, iZombie: Season 3, Lucifer: Season 1, Lucifer: Season 2, Samurai Jack: Season 5, Be Cool Scooby Doo!: Spooky Kooky Fun!, Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Prod.: Hare-Raising Tales, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug: Extended Edition, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies: Extended Edition, The Simpsons: Season 18, Red Dwarf XII, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Beyond The Known Universe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Earth's Last Stand, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Super Shredder, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady, Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Final Chapters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half-Shell Heroes: Blast To The Past, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows, Power Rangers (2017), Power Rangers: Zeo: Volume 2, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Power Rangers Turbo: Volume 1, Power Rangers: Turbo: Volume 2, Power Rangers In Space Volume 1, Power Rangers In Space: Volume 2, Power Rangers Samurai: The Complete Season, Power Rangers: Megaforce: The Complete Season, Power Rangers: Super Megaforce: The Complete Season, Transformers: Robots In Disguise: Season 1, Heroes Reborn: The Complete Series, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 1: Water, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 2: Earth, Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 3: Fire, The Legend Of Korra: The Complete Series, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Seasons 1 & 2, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Seasons 3 and a Half-ish, The Ren And Stimpy Show: Season 5 & Some More Of 4, Haven: Season 5 - Vol. 1, Haven: The Final Season, The Dark Tower, IT, Under The Dome: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 2, Sleepy Hollow: Season 3, Sleepy Hollow: Season 4, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 2, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 3, Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 4, Airplane! / Airplane II: The Sequel: Double Feature, The Jurassic Park Trilogy, Jurassic World, Back To The Future: The Complete Animated Series, Shaun The Sheep Movie (Blu-Ray), Shaun The Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas, 12 Monkeys: Season 1, 12 Monkeys: Season 2, Grimm: Season 4, Grimm: Season 5, Grimm: Season 6, The Wonder Years: Season 4, The Wonder Years: Season 5, The Wonder Years: Season 6, The Peanuts Movie, Peanuts By Schulz: Snoopy Tales, Peanuts By Schulz: Go Team Go!, Peanuts By Schulz: School Days, Bob's Burgers: Season 5, Home Movies: Seasons 1 & 2, Home Movies: Season 3 & 4, Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, Community: Season 6, Danger Mouse: The Complete Series, Game Of Thrones: Season 5, and Game of Thrones: Season 6.
Star Trek: Discovery "Will You Take My Hand?"
That was a lot of fun. Michelle Yoeh seems to be having a blast with Mirror Georgiou, and the thing I like best about her is her warped sense of humor. What amazes me is that she threatens Burnham for trying to expose her on the bridge. I was like "Dude, you were doing that to yourself. You are a crazy person." Even Lorca had enough wisdom in him to alter his behavior around those he was trying to trick. Georgiou is just REALLY bad at spyjinxs.
I believe this was the first Star Trek series we ever saw a team "power walk" through. It was kind of awesome.
I was a surprised by the Enterprise at the end, but it's ten years before Kirk. They'll need to recast Pike and Spock, but everyone else was only seen once, and we don't really care if they are recast. Even Number One, memorable as she was, was not memorable enough to ever return.
Is it too much to hope for Greenwood or Quinto? I actually don't think it is. Both of those actors have done a TON of TV stuff, and are more known for their TV roles than their movie ones. I hope they wrote that ending after getting a positive response from Quinto and Greenwood.
Honestly, while I don't think that bombing Q'onos would have solved anything, I think Burnham's plan was equally dumb. But whereas that was too harsh, this is too soft. Giving that power to the female Klingon prisoner is pretty stupid. There is no guarantee she will be on their side when they free her. She hasn't even been on their side while she was a prisoner. Yeah, now she Tyler to guide her, but before he offered to go with her, Burnham didn't even factor that into her entire plan. And considering the Klingons are a race of beings that will slaughter a family, sit down and eat their dinner, and laugh about it, Burnham is crazy to have the optimism about the situation she does.
But she turns out to be right. Which is absolutely crazy. It's absolutely Star Trek, but like many Star Trek happy endings, it is not the least bit credible.
For the record, Clint Howard has only gotten grosser and more obnoxious with age. There is something seriously wrong when someone as grody as him gets cast at ALL in Hollywood. He is far too ugly to play the old, skeevy, dirtbag he is playing. Which is saying something.
The reason the Enterprise surprised me is because I was convinced the distress call would be from Our Universe's real Captain Lorca. Honestly, I would have liked that better than the Enterprise. Because as much as I love this show so far, I am legitimately worried about them messing that up. If it had been Lorca I would have simply said "Cool!" with stupid grin on my face. As of now, I have concerns.
But that was a great ride. Maybe not the definitive finale we were hoping far, but it certainly gave us much more wrap-up in the season than most Star Trek cliffhangers ever did. They wrapped up the season and put the twist in the last scene. Which is actually the correct way to do it. As much as I loved Next Gen, we should NOT have been traumatized by The Best Of Both Worlds as much as we were. It was just super unfair even if it's awesome and twisted in hindsight. This is the actual correct way to do a cliffhanger in a season finale.
Pretty solid season finale. ****1/2.
DC Super Hero Girls "Ring Me Maybe: Part Four"
Nonsense. Kittens, and butterfly constructs, and oh look, Sinestro has heart underwear. Like I said. Nonsense. *.
DC Super Hero Girls "Fish Out Of Water: Part One"
Miss Martian is cute.
I like Mera so far.
I don't like Firefly's design.
Good episode. ***1/2.
Supergirl "Both Sides Now"
It's official. I hate Alex. And I wasn't even aware I did until this episode.
I was extremely disturbed that the DEO used an armed SWAT team to bust down Julia's door, and pointed their guns are her, despite the fact that at that point, she hadn't committed any crimes. The worst thing she did was be in a dream. That's disturbing enough.
But later on, even if Supergirl is wrong about Julia (and she's not), Alex is the worst person ever for undercutting everything Supergirl is trying to do in her interrogation. Supergirl is trying to build trust, and every time a crack forms in Julia, Alex steps in and threatens to dissect her. I mean, seriously? Dissection? I think Alex is a very warped person if her perspective is that Purity is evil and she is not. That was absolutely sick. I think both J'onn and Kara should have been personally offended by that. J'onn didn't hear it, but if I were Kara I'd be like, "Is that what you think should happen to aliens deep down? Have you always thought that? Are I and J'onn some of "the good ones" who don't deserve that? Be specific in which aliens do, please. And most importantly, how long have to been a total genocidal monster who supports Nazi tactics? Just curious." The fact that Kara takes Alex's side at one point after that shows the writers are entirely fudged up.
And she's all, "We tried it your way, now we're doing it mine." No, we didn't try it Kara's way, Alex, because you kept sabotaging her. It is far easier to blow up an interrogation on purpose, than to actually get someone on your side by working at it. Alex sucks at her job.
And it never occurs to Alex that Purity might have have a hidden agenda in claiming Julia was act? Because if Julia is NOT an act, that means she can be reached. And that's bad for both Purity and Reign. It never occurred to Alex she's lying about that because it's in her best interest to lie about that?
I think it strikes me as a bit of a cop-out at this stage of the game to reveal that Mon-El's marriage to Imra was arranged. That should have come up immediately. Specifically, that should have been the first thing Mon-El told Kara to make her feel better. But this reeks of a retcon.
J'onn is right about something. There is nothing wrong or bad about Mon-El's romantic feelings towards Kara. It's keeping them from Imra that is wrong and bad. And that is very wise advice. I don't agree (at all) that couples need to share everything with each other. But this is clearly eating Mon-El alive, and that's the type of thing that needs to be shared.
Lena seems to be trying to normalize Sam's actions with Ruby, but the kid is smart enough to know better. It is NOT all right. There is something very wrong with her mother, and the other adults refuse to accept that.
Lena claims in the very last scene that she knows what is wrong with Sam, and that she knows how to help her. Which raises three alarming questions for me: 1. Does she? 2. Can she? 3. And will she? The fact that the jury is actually out on ALL three of those questions concerns me.
Is it possible Imra's actual secret involves bringing Kara back to the future? Is that why she didn't tell Mon-El? Because he'd object? Has she decided to let him in on it because she assumes that his rekindled feelings would make it so he'd WANT her in the future? My bet is that the answer to all of these questions is "Yes.".
The episode sucked so much because Alex does. *.
The Flash "True Colors"
What does the episode title have to do with anything?
I'm glad Barry is out of prison, but it strikes me as incredibly odd that they had to go through all of those supernatural hoops to "clear" him in the first place. The case itself was hardly rock solid. If you need a plastic guy to impersonate the dude you murdered with all of the evidence that Barry was actually framed in play, you might be a bad lawyer.
Speaking of Cecile, I just remembered something. Devoe now has psychic powers. I thought that was an insurmountable advantage until I remembered that Cecile just got them too. They better defeat Devoe before the baby comes. Because I think that will be the key.
Richard Brooks was so much fun when he was playing Ralph. The guy is so talented. He deserved a much bigger career than the one he got.
I was sad what happened to Hazard and the other prisoners, but it was inevitable. Simply because they found out Barry was the Flash, and anyone who ever does pretty much has to go. Amunet is very lucky she didn't get that far, or she'd be dead too.
Speaking of which, I'm wondering why Wolf didn't tell Amunet Barry was the Flash. That's something she probably would have wanted to know ahead of time, especially since he himself hinted she'd see Barry as valuable. The only reason I can think of is that the producers wanted to use her again, and if she learned the identity, she'd have to be killed off. But I assume she would have paid top-dollar for the Flash, if only to kill him rather than sell him. Wolf completely missed out on a huge financial opportunity.
I am unsure why Devoe still has psychic powers if he is in Hazard, but that's bad. If he can absorb the powers of everyone he takes over and keep them, we are in trouble. Hazard was probably the most powerful and useful Meta on that bus. The only hope Team Flash has is that when Devoe next switches bodies, that power doesn't switch over too. But it's the fact that he/she's still psychic which worries me.
Wasn't this the exact same judge who told Barry at sentencing that he had never seen a more heartless or coldblooded killer in all his time on the bench? In Central Freaking City? I hope he now feels precisely like the dumbass he is.
There should have been a last scene of Barry leaving his cell. Maybe there was, and it was deleted, and will be on the Blu-Ray, but just based on the fact that it was Henry's cell, and father and son had both carved their names on the same wall, there should have been wrap-up about that.
Fun episode. I'm glad Barry's out of jail. It wasn't too soon, and it didn't last too long. I was worried that he was going to be stuck there till the end of the season. I am mostly happy with that. ****.
Black Lightning "Black Jesus"
I feel like the last ten minutes of that were not very strong. I was very surprised when the episode ended when it did, because Arrowverse shows usually build to that.
I love the idea that Tobias Whale is a black albino. It will make rewatching the season a lot of fun. I will undoubtedly see his racial comments entirely differently now. I feel like I should have figured that out before his sister showed up.
I think his sister's plan to turn Khalil is a good one... Or it would be if Tobias had let her in on a crucial fact: He was the one who actually shot Khalil. I assumed if she had known that she would have done something entirely different and not involved Khalil at ALL. She doesn't strike me as stupid, while Tobias does. And it's because Tobias is stupid which is why he's dumb because he never told her he was the shooter. Because she'd be smart enough to know that the truth would actually come out to Khalil someday, and there is no amount of polishing that particular turd. If Sister Whale had known Tobias was the one who shot Khalil, she would have kept him as far away from any plan to turn the city against Black Lightning as possible.
Do you know what my favorite moment in the episode was? It might have been my favorite moment on the series so far. But the amused look on Cress Williams' face as Anissa talks up Black Lightning at the Henderson's dinner table was absolutely delightful. He's about to crack up, but for obvious reasons cannot. He wants to punch the air so badly, but he can't. It was very endearing. But it is obvious he has never been prouder Anissa was his daughter.
Did Gambi actually recognize Anissa on the footage? Is that why he went to the crime scene? TBD...
Here is a tough opinion: I don't think a kid who goes to school high and then attacks the principle is someone who shouldn't be expelled and not be able to go to college. Jefferson is pretty much the most amazing principle ever, but I saw the ending coming, and the thing I regret most about it was that Jefferson essentially wasted his entire political capital on that kid for nothing. The episode tries to play it like Bernard is going to get better, but even if he is, it is clear to me that Jefferson made the wrong choice in saving him rather than the future kids he could have wound up saving, who would have deserved his help.
Don't worry, Anissa. I'm sure Black Lightning accidentally nearly killed some dudes when he started too.
I love Two-Bit's negotiation with Black Lightning. Even if he wasn't Jefferson's friend, if I were Black Lightning, I would not have called the cops either. He argues the unfairness of the 3 strikes law. It's interesting that as he's negotiating whether or not he deserves to be knocked out, he gets on a bit of a political soapbox. If 3 strikes laws were applied fairly, and only counted towards really bad offenses, they'd suck, but they'd have a value as a deterrent. As it stands, a black man can spend his entire life in prison for being caught smoking weed three times. Two-Bit being a dealer of a dangerous drug is clearly way worse than that. But I also don't think it's something worth a life sentence.
If Black Lightning had a better sense of humor, he would have allowed Two-Bit the selfie. It's hilarious that even the criminals love Black Lightning, and what he represents to the community. But Jefferson is probably thinking that the less footage of him that is out there, the less likely he is to get caught. But if he had posed, I wouldn't have faulted him. It was pretty funny.
What was Lady Eve doing to that kid on the table? Scary.
Good for the first three quarters, and sort of limped out at the end. ***1/2.
Black Lightning "And Then The Devil Brought The Plague: The Book Of Green Light"
Mixed feelings. I liked some of it. Which is more than I can usually say for most genre shows I watch.
I like getting some backstory for Tobias. I don't sympathize with him exactly, but I kind of understand why someone who is neither considered black or white would wind up so damaged. The envelope with the dust in it also explicitly says that Lady Eve thinks of him as a non-person. I'm a little surprised he used to be a politician. The episode treated him as if no-one ever liked him.
I like the way Lynn diffused the lesbian mothers, and the fact that her and Jefferson pretty much had them eating out of their hands by the end of the day. I agree with Lynn that Jennifer needed to be punished, but I'm amused that Jefferson cannot help himself giving her affirmation over her fighting skills, even when he should not be encouraging her. Which leads me to the bad thing.
Jefferson telling Jennifer to walk away was rich consider he threatened Gambi, and went out anyways over his objections, only to have a heart attack or whatever and get his butt kicked. And by the way, I don't know what I was expecting from Joey Toledo, but just based upon all the build-up the show did with his name, I expected more than a ratty looking guy. The episode would have done better to show him and Tobias at the beginning instead of speaking of Joey in fearful, hushed tones. Now it's a let-down.
Gambi is not blameless. He should have told Jefferson about Tobias immediately. He's right that Jefferson probably would have overreacted, but it's not like he didn't already do that anyways.
The mixed bag thing is Anissa's costume. It's an eyesore. And yet, I feel superhero shows and movies should have more garish and loud costumes than they do. Those are the only kinds regular people like Anissa would be able to afford. The problem is that it's rubber, so she looks like a clown dominatrix. And I don't care if she gave a fake name, she's crazy to tell the tailor what she actually wanted the costume for. Because now he knows her face, and now he'll probably become a target because of that. I want garish cosplay costumes. But I would like them if the material was more like Adam West and Christoper's Reeves tights. There has to be a middle ground somewhere. I hate superhero costumes with dull, muted tones. But still, this was a bit much.
Do you know what superhero costumes I liked? The ones the Royal Family wore in the first episode of Inhumans. They were literally the only thing about that show I liked. Most people who watched that show had it worse than me, because they too liked nothing else about the show, but also thought the costumes sucked. But that's the middle ground between this and the breathable fabric costumes from the Snyderverse and the Arrowverse.
All right, but not as good as the previous weeks. ***.
Arrow "The Devil's Greatest Trick"
Good and bad. Good because the 45 minutes plus commercials I just watched was pretty boss. Bad because I am now pretty sure the rest of the season is gonna suck.
I understand why they made the traitor Diaz. The audience has no attachment to him the way they do Laurel or Anatoly. Which is precisely why the betrayal should have been one of those two. It's a nothing twist, and means we are trading one no-name Big Bad for another. Could you imagine the stakes if Dinah had been right, and the mastermind of season was Laurel Lance? Not only would that rip a hole in the foundation of Team Arrow and The Outsiders, but what the hell would Quentin do?
By the way, Quentin as Annie Wilkes is stupid. The one thing about the episode I didn't like.
What I like about the scene of Cayden and Oliver in the end before Diaz comes in to kill him, is that Cayden is pretty much acknowledging his son would be disgusted with his actions. Especially since he was doing them in his name. I would love the Punisher to have a similar epiphany, but he seems more less self-aware and much more evil than Cayden James.
Am I the only one who wants to smack William? Because he became in this episode what we hate about kid characters. Rushing into danger and causing all sorts of unneeded complications for the heroes. It worked out okay dramawise, as his and Oliver's bonding is the thing that caused James to surrender, but once a kid character is the annoying Mary Sue, they cannot stop being the annoying Mary Sue. They are literally that forever. And he wasn't until this episode, which bums me out.
Where was Felicity when she should have been watching him? I know she was busy, but I hope Oliver screams at her later.
The new chief of police is on Diaz's payroll? The one who Quentin vouched for? Suddenly his seeing the good in a monster like Laurel makes sense. This episode pretty much made him the series chump.
Man, I loved the episode. Me enjoying this season was nice as long as it lasted. I don't expect a ton of positive reviews for the rest of the year. ****1/2.
DC's Legends Of Tomorrow "Daddy Darhkest"
Before we get into the Constantine and Snart awesomeness, I would be remiss to point out that this episode is exactly why I hated Damien Darhk back on Arrow, and why I never for a second bought the show trying to make him into a lovable goofball in season two of Legends. I cannot really excuse him selling his daughter to Mollus. But on the other hand, he's evil. He values different things that I do. I can almost forgive that.
But then he sends the daughter right back into the same insane asylum she was tortured in, and he is one of the worst people who ever existed in this specific franchise. I hate him so much.
Back to Constantine. FINALLY. Constantine's appearance on Arrow was great, but it WAS just Constantine guest starring on Arrow. That's all there was to it. Here, the entire show took on his show's sensibility for the entire episode. I swear the opening scene was something EXACTLY out of the NBC show. It was like the show was back on the air for that scene, and much of the rest of the episode. That was not the case on Arrow. They even messed up the main titles to look like John's show. I hear reports that the upcoming Constantine cartoon won't necessarily be in continuity with the rest of the NBC show. Which is weird, because just based on this episode, the rest of the Arrowverse IS. I never quite got that part of the cartoon's upcoming description. At all.
I like that Mick only has admirable leadership abilities when he wants you to leave him alone.
Television and society have changed. Even five years ago, Mick would have been portrayed as homophobic and intolerant of Leo's gayness. Instead he's just uncomfortable, has trouble expressing it, but still gives the big bear hug at the end. I feel sad at how far our country has moved backwards over the past two years, but the fact that Mick is confused rather than cruel means there ARE some things that are better now, even if current politics are worse. This kind of positive change in society happens regardless of politics. Because it happens, politics can get fudged up by people who oppose things like this. But this being normal in society now means it will always be normal. And that's a good thing.
Speaking of Snart, I was super disappointed he only stuck around for one episode. I was hoping he would be back permanently, and if not, I was hoping he'd at least be contracted for a few a episodes. A bit of a let-down.
Here is a failing of the episode: Were I Nate, after what happened with Amaya and her granddaughter, I would be super pissed. I would be screaming at Amaya at the top of my lungs. I'd be smashing plates. And Nate doesn't comment on how fudged up that was, what she basically let happen to him, as if it wasn't the single worst betrayal she has ever committed. That bother me. It bothers me because this suggests the show is not that well-written and trades good drama for extra scenes of Ray and Nora in the café.
Speaking of badly written (and the café), I feel having Ray comment about the sugar was something that made me deeply dislike him as a character in a way I never did before. They did it to show Ray is square and straight-laced and conservative. But that poor girl just got out of an insane asylum. This is literally the first treat she has had in years, and Ray is trying to take it away from her. It not only strikes me as unnecessarily controlling of a person Ray has no actual authority over, but there is an antifeminist subtext of Ray denying this young woman her own agency. And there is no logical reason for Ray to do that other than the writers wanted to contrast his personality. Instead, him trying to run the life of traumatized and violated girl makes me absolutely detest him. That was easily the worst scene in the episode.
Constantine is smoking, which shows the producers have been given the proper leeway, and the fact that he is smoking much more than he was on his old show, is good for creative freedom. But nothing says creative freedom more than the fact that this episode is literally the first time the character's bisexuality can be explored. NBC never let the producers do that.
I disliked him and Sara having sex though. It's not that I could never ship the characters, I just hate the subtext and reasons as to why they did it. Sara asks before she falls into John's arms if they are both really that damaged, and that was the vibe I got from the scene. It was damaged and depressing and made me feel bad. Which is not something a sex scene between two hot actors should do. Or at least not outside of an indie film or FX cable drama. It bummed me out.
Interestingly, John says he works best alone, and he does, as he seems to have finally scared off the other cast members from the original series. But I think the difference between Constantine in The Arrowverse and Constantine on NBC, is that John has people who like him here. Who don't shut the door in his face upon seeing him again. It is a very serious contrast to see how nicely Sara treats when literally every single character on the old show Constantine was ever reunited with either hated or feared him. Maybe the way the Arrowverse is doing it is not in the spirit of the character. But I like it for the character more. I do.
My biggest regret of the episode was that is was only one episode. I would have liked to have seen John and Leo stick around for a bit. ****.
Lucifer "My Brother's Keeper"
I had some objections to that watching it, but they were mostly addressed by the end of the episode.
Objection the First:
I objected to Linda turning away Charlotte at her office. But the episode wisely pointed at that Lucifer's mother tried to kill her. But essentially the real reason I objected to her being turned away is because, professionally speaking, Linda is the only person who CAN help Charlotte Richards. She is the only human on Earth who knows she isn't crazy. That is why Lucifer sent her to her.
Resolution Verdict:
Resolved. Linda decides to go to Charlotte, and offer her the help she needs. Probably because she realized what I just said was true.
Objection The Second:
Lucifer notes that Ella's brother would be in jail if any other cop than Chloe had handled the case. I objected to that idea because that is not a good thing. There should not be two sets of rules for people related to cops.
Resolution Verdict:
Resolved. Lucifer thinks the same as me, and caught the brother in the act, of stealing diamonds and was right all along. Some people might think that Lucifer letting him go is exactly the problem with the police department, but the thing is, Lucifer is the actual Devil. The brother is not off the hook. If anything, he's in even more trouble than if he had been sent to prison for a murder he didn't commit. Murder jail terms last decades. Hell is forever.
Objection The Third:
Pierce threatens Amenadiels' life, and when he doesn't budge, points a gun at an innocent stranger. Finally, he unloads the gun into the air in a crowded room, but the police are never called, and he never has to answer for that.
Resolution Verdict:
Unresolved. What I disliked about this not being resolved is that is very easily could have been. Amenadiel warns Lucifer that Pierce is dangerous, but Lucifer says, "That's the point of teaming up with him." But if Lucifer knew the specific things that Cain did, like threatening to kill his brother, and then threatening the life of an innocent person, I doubt Luci would still Team Cain. Lucifer is not only helping Pierce because he wants to anger his father. That is the excuse. But in reality, part of him likes and sympathizes with him. That might change if he learned Pierce threatened to murder an innocent person because he didn't get his way.
Other things of note:
Speaking of innocence, Lucifer describes Charlotte Richards as "innocent woman". That is thought provoking to me, because she DID wind up in Hell. Lucifer has stated that people only go to Hell if they personally believe they deserve it deep down. Him calling Charlotte innocent suggests he knows and believes many people in Hell don't actually belong there.
The dumbest thing in the episode was Lucifer talking about brothers who refuse to help you murder someone. How is it that Lucifer can say something like that in a roomful of cops and everybody just instantly drops it without further questions? That is one of the things I hate about the show, and one of the flaws built into the conceit of the show. People are dumber than they need to be, because if they weren't, they'd believe Lucifer, and the show would be over. I understand this perfectly well, and get the rationale here. That doesn't mean I have to like it.
For the record, Pierce was insightful to point out that Amenadiel tried to kill Lucifer. Lucifer has never done that to Amenadiel, which is another thing that states Lucifer is a more virtuous person than his brother.
Above average episode. ***1/2.
Unikitty "Kitty Court"
For some reason, this episode depressed me. It's a really good thing that Master Frown was faking, because the entire justice system in Unikitty's kingdom is entirely fudged up. I'd hate to think what would happen when a sane person like say, Richard actually had a legitimate grievance with somebody.
I liked the wheel spin of the judge though. The gag was very similar to the Bender / Robot Devil joke on Futurama. Although I think the outcome was much less funny here.
I was more cringing that laughing throughout this. **1/2.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Spider-Island: Part Three"
It's fun to see Peter allowed to do superheroics without his costume. I also like that he's annoyed that everyone else has biological webs while he's stuck with web-shooters.
I notice that Peter marked the spider drawing on Anya's shoulder rather than her chest. Good boundaries for Peter there.
When I heard what Monster-Gwen was doing to Kraven, at first it sounded far more gruesome than merely wrapping him in the web.
If Kraven figures out who Peter is, that's bad, because he's likely to do it on camera.
Good third part. ***1/2.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Spider-Island: Part Four"
That was totally boss. Best episode so far.
So much happened and so much of it was awesome.
But it's a total black mark against Peter that that was the first time he thought to check on Aunt May. She hasn't been on the show enough and that was a case in point.
Miles does not speak in this episode because then the writers would have to pay his voice actor.
Awesome. *****.
Marvel's Spider-Man "Spider-Island: Part Five"
Gee, Harry, I can't for one SECOND imagine why Peter never wanted to tell you he was Spider-Man. It's a total mystery there.
This show cheaping out on the voice actors is annoying. Not only should Gwen have had a speaking part at the end. But they clearly animated Flash saying something upon being changed back, but were too cheap not only to hire his actor, but to change the animation so it didn't look like he was speaking. Amateur hour on Team Spider-Man.
I loved Part 4 but the last underwhelmed completely. ***.
Mickey Mouse "Year Of The Dog"
The animation was especially tight in this episode, and the ending was unusually sweet. I also love that Mickey hums his end title theme tune as he sets out the meal.
Great episode. ****.
The X-Files "Kitten"
That was a very interesting episode, that sort of solidified the idea that Skinner is on Mulder and Scully's side, and always has been. I think Skinner's speech at the end is the thing that convinced Mulder of that too. Honestly? That was Mitch Pileggi's best performance on the series. From some reason all of the X-Files actors are better now than they were before the show came back. But Pileggi is like to the Nth degree. He's amazing now.
It's interesting to see Haley Joel Osment as an adult. He gained a LOT of weight, which might be why he doesn't get cast very much. But he's still a talented actor so that strikes me as a shame. He was good here as both the father and the son.
Other than the gas there wasn't really a supernatural element to the show this week. The X-Files straddles the line between science fiction and fact, and despite the fact that the gas is kind of a crazy idea, the show veered closer to fact than usual.
It amazes me that Kirsch actually believe Mulder and Scully know more than they do. On the one hand, it's a nice, unearned compliment to their skills as rabble-rousing FBI agents. But on the other hand, it shows why Kirsch was so ineffective and bad at his job on the original series. He never had an accurate read of any of the cases. Scully was a skeptic. Kirsch was simply the guy who got everything wrong.
But the idea that Skinner gave up a promising career to throw in with Mulder and Scully holds up to scrutiny. I loved hearing Kirsch tell them that, and their surprised reaction to what should have been a no-brainer. But The FBI's Most Unwanted? Skinner is an equal part of that, and always has been. Mulder is considered a dead end at the FBI, so it surprises me that Mulder and Scully never bothered to wonder why Skinner is still their boss after all this. Food for thought.
Good episode this week. ****.
Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel "Tough Love"
"This whirlwind really blows!" Ooh! Spicy talk.
Speaking of which, I love how the Rangers are making fun of the fact that "Change is in the spice of life" is not an actual saying. That is so dumb.
The design on the monster was pretty cool.
Not bad. ***.
The Blacklist "The Invisible Hand"
This episode mostly contained criminals in way over their heads. The stuff with Liz and Oleander and The Invisible Hand stuff didn't interest me too much. But the stuff with Red and Anthony was great.
I love's Red's quip that a person must be extremely confident in their genitals to name themselves Big Willie. I kept wondering why Red was trying to teach this guy good leadership after he accidentally killed the wrong guy. It's because he wants to hire him.
And even if he's technically using Anthony, it not like he didn't pay for the procedure. Anthony is dumb though to get involved with something like that when he has no idea what he's doing. Next thing you know he's looking at severed body parts and puking in the corner.
The notion that the cop investigating Liz for murder being in on Tom's death annoys me. Did they HAVE to make him a bad guy? Liz DID kill a guy and cover it up. I would actually like to see the drama of that played out, but if the cops investigating it are dirty, it's almost as if the murder was justified. And I'm not cool with that.
See you after the Olympics, Red. ***1/2.
