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matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of Batwoman, Supergirl, Black Lighting, and Rapunzel's Tangled adventure, and the series finale of Star Wars Resistance.
Arrow "Fadeout"
I pretty much needed that.
Oliver and Felicity get to spend eternity together. The red pen lets you know it's actually Heaven.
And John is about to become Green Lantern. VERY cool.
I was amazed and loved the amount of cameos from former cast members and major characters they kept quiet. I was very surprised to see Tommy, and Anatoly, and the Al Ghuls. I especially like that in the rebooted Universe Ragman, Tommy, and Moira are alive and Emiko is good. But my favorite thing is that Oliver brought back Quentin, and Quentin gave him his much needed public due. I'm still furious about where we left things off in the future, but hopefully the Canaries spin-off gets picked up and we can save Future William.
I was furious at Emily Bett Rickards for deciding to leave the show in the lurch last season, but she came back when the show really needed her, and was able to fulfill the happy ending hinted at in the last episode of last season. I'm not crazy about the idea of Felicity being dead, but it is a grand, romantic notion anyways.
I like that Laurel is upset that Oliver brought back every important person but Earth 1 Laurel, and Quentin reassures her that she is worth being in his life anyways. I thought that was a beautiful idea.
Crime free and pleasant Star City makes it more like the comics. I like that idea too.
Moira accepting Emiko into her life was character growth. I liked that.
They answered a lot of questions, and set-up some great future notions for the Arrowverse. I'm still mad about Future William, but hopefully the CW follows through. I was very satisfied with that. ****1/2.
Batwoman "An Unbirthday Present"
Kate's like "I rebooted the freaking Universe, and all I got was this lousy continuity headache."
I knew and Kate would go back to save Beth in the car, and I loved every inch of it. Not only was it far too soon to wrap-up that specific plot-point without further exploration, but it was a perfect and elegant way to have Kate work through that specific hang-up. This show has been getting it from all sides from critics. But tell me, how often do you see a storytelling move that simple, yet effective? Not often, and usually on far better shows than the ones that exist in The Arrowverse. Credit where credit is due for that. Seriously haters. Take a chill pill. A show that can do that so easily probably doesn't suck as much as you say it does.
I love that Batwoman is popular in Gotham, and a freaking rock star. I've never seen a Bat treated that way, and I could definitely get used to it.
Mary was used wonderfully in the episode. I loved her entire arc about being surprised at how much she actually likes the woman who shares the face of her mother's killer.
I also like that the origin of the Alice persona was a defense mechanism for trauma and abuse. The monster killing the cat says Alice was needed. But even if that is so, just because bad things happened to Beth as a kid, doesn't excuse the horrible things she's done as an adult. Alice believes she is entitled to behave the way she does because of how the people in her life failed have her. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, she's a grown-@$$ woman with her own agency, who is 100% responsible for her own current choices. I can believe the idea that she needed to create Alice just to survive back then. But she chose to stay Alice when that was no longer an issue, so everything bad she's done past that point is entirely on her.
This was my favorite episode so far, by the way, not counting the Crisis one, which was barely a Batwoman episode at all. *****.
Supegirl "Back From The Future: Part One"
I have a lot to say about that. I don't tend to do ultra in-depth detailed reviews for the Arrowverse shows, at least not recently, not even for the Crisis, but I'm gonna have to deconstruct that a lot.
First I'm going to insult the series: Supergirl, the series, was flawed from the get-go. Even though my major problems didn't start occurring until last year and this one, the series had a time-bomb built into the premise, guaranteed to destroy it. But say what you will about Greg Berlanti and the producers of The Arrowverse shows, if they find a good idea, they latch onto it. They are not afraid to abandon their original plans if something better comes up. There is no better demonstration of this than the fact that originally Arrow was envisioned to be the epic starcrossed romance between Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance. And that would have murdered the show. Not only because Laurel was a despicable, hurtful person I hated. But because the actors didn't have good chemistry, at least not of the romantic variety. Instead Emily Bett Rickards comes along in a cute one-off role that the audience responds to, and the fact that she is the first person we've ever seen make Oliver Queen smile suddenly changes the entire course of the series. A love story between Oliver and somebody as toxic and cruel as Laurel would have been a disaster and destroyed the show.
Supergirl had a similar bomb planted in its premise. It's clear at the beginning of the show, Winn Schott was envisioned to be this version of Smallville's Lex Luthor, and a trusted friend of Kara's who eventually goes bad and turns on her and everyone she cares about. But they made the crazy decision to cast Jeremy Jordan in the role, which was like series suicide for that particular trope. Jordan is so warm, and genuine, and likable I would never have accepted him becoming Toyman. And it became pretty clear earlier on that the rest of the audience felt the same way, and the producers did too, so his role shifted entirely. And I love this episode because it reminds us how badly the series could have gone had the producers not done the necessary course correction. And it's because it's a new Universe, and everything is up in the air, there is a very real chance Winn's happy ending WILL be retconned, and the Evil Toyman will be the New Normal, which is great for the tension of the episode. But in the end, the series erred on the side of Jeremy Jordan's winning performance. When he tells Brainy, "I should hate you. But it worked out so I don't," I thank God the producers were willing to change that specific gameplan once Jordan became the asset to the show he did. Even after he's been gone for a couple of seasons, he fits so seamlessly back into that role. His scenes with Nia were great, especially telling her to always accept herself for who she is. Because she's transgendered that has an addition meaning for both her and the audience. And that's because the series decided to embrace Jeremy Jordan's role as the hero.
Interestingly, The Flash had similar problem built into its premise with the lovable Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost, and they ultimately (and wisely in my opinion) chickened out there too. But Caitlin is an ambiguous enough character to at least explore it to some extent before dismissing the idea. And I like that Supergirl The TV Show won't even burden Winn with that much.
Brainy says his problem was that he didn't factor in Lex's ruthlessness and love of chaos into his equation. Is he a 12th level intellect or not? Because that's a pretty big oversight when you are in the room with Lex freaking Luthor. What bothers me the most (and this bothers me about this Lex in general) is that his plan isn't particularly smart or elegant. Brainy should have have seen it coming a mile away. And if Lex were the genius he thinks he is, he'd remember Brainy is a member of the Legion himself, and have him contact Winn personally to get him the information as a personal favor. The fact that that non-crazy idea occurs to neither of them says neither are as smart as they believe they are.
When Winn comes back from the 30th Century and declares Lex Luthor a hero, that freaking hurts. Unless something big happens to the timeline, this new sucky situation is permanent. That depresses me.
Something good about Lex and this show. John Cryer was originally only going to appear on the show in a one-and-done arc last year. But the producers pitched Cryer the idea of appearing in Crisis, and his role has been upgraded to indefinite. Why is this good? With "Superman And Lois" imminent next season, this says Cryer is all in on this character. It will be nice and shocking to finally have a Superman show with Superman, Lois, and Lex on it all at the same time. That's been SO long since the first season of Lois And Clark, and it's been TOO freaking long. I'm glad Cryer is sticking around, even if I personally loathe this version of Lex.
I have to say Kara offering to help William with the investigation is the correct way to go. As long as she knows what he's doing, she can actually protect him. The partnership was a great idea.
As much as I hate Lex, I DID laugh when he said into the tape recorder that Kara Danvers was Supergirl.
That was great. I'm glad the series did right by Jeremy Jordan. I don't ever believe a series should change its entire arc to please the fans who want something different. But I do believe that producers SHOULD change original plans if they aren't working out as expected. It's not just that the fans would have hated seeing that happen to Winn. It's that it would wind up wrong for the story if it happened. And that is perfectly fine for the producers to realize and change as the series goes on. Fan demand actually has little to do with it.
Great week. *****.
Black Lightning "The Book Of Markovia: Chapter Two: Lynn's Addiction"
Man, TC is going to be really helpful with Kahlil. Gambi befriended the right kid. TC noting most other white people would have ignored him made me wince. Because that observation was completely true, and I felt guilty that it was.
When Jefferson literally makes a veiled threat to cut off Brandon's penis I was like, "Jefferson does not respond to problems fathers go through like a sane or good person." It's a bit rich how upset he is at what Jen has done when pretty much Jefferson's words and actions are always violent, disturbing, and yes, patently creepy where his daughters are concerned. It really bothers me. A lot. The guy is out of control in his personal life. It's hard to root for a hero who is so ill-mannered in every respect in his civilian identity. And fathers so concerned with their protecting their daughters' virtues creep me out, and they should creep everyone else out too. Why the writers gave Jefferson this borderline incestuous facet and think it's funny is beyond me.
In the rebooted Universe Odell is from Gotham. I also strongly suspect he's lying about his past with MLK. Why? Because he's almost certainly lying about golfing with the President. Does the white female lady President seen in the rebooted Universe at the end of the Crisis seem like much of a golfer to you? It's likelier Odell is simply a pathological liar.
What's messed up is that as much as the Pierces hate Odell, they are still unaware of his biggest crime against them: Deliberately hooking Lynn on drugs. That is the major shoe drop I'm waiting for. Jefferson is SO against killing the guy. I hope that idea gives him some perspective.
I had a huge problem with the brothel scene. Full disclosure: I have never visited a cathouse. But I am 100% certain clients would have to check their phones at the door, and not be allowed to wander off by themselves, specifically so they wouldn't do what Big Man just did. I am a total layman regarding that specific institution, but one thing that is consistent in real-life is that criminals are careful, particularly the organized ones. Why wouldn't that be true for brothels too? If it is, the episode is outright badly written. It is very common that writers of the Berlanti shows do no research into any given profession they write about. And one of the most infuriating aspects of them never doing that is that they make sloppy asinine mistakes that you shouldn't even NEED to research, and should just be plain common sense. What irks me is that Black Lightning, the series, does this far less often than the other Arrowverse shows and Riverdale. But apparently it is not immune to lazy writers too busy to research an even cursory understanding of a given subject or profession.
The plot was a bit sloppy and the characters grated. A mixed bag. ***.
Doctor Who "Fugitive Of The Judoon"
Speculation: Ruth is the Valeyard. The true Thirteenth Evil Doctor who somehow existed between the regeneration of David Tennant into Matt Smith. The Valeyard's existence was something I deeply regret the series never got to, but I suspect Chibnall figured out a good way to do it in hindsight. Which is good, because while I erroneously believed Peter Capaldi could be the Valeyard, it's better if we don't witness the Doctor descend into it during their actual tenure. The Valeyard worked as a future threat on the original series. Here it would work as an example of the Doctor's past catching up to her. Ruth is not only the first female Doctor now, but she's the first black one too, which is probably why the show fooled me so well with that twist. But I'm betting she's the Valeyard.
And yes, I'm aware that the first black female Doctor being the Evil Doctor could potentially send a bad message, but I am firmly in the "wait and see" headspace at the moment. Russell Davies in particular had a LOT of problems with racial portrayals (you could set your watch to the black villain inevitably being murdered by the alien while screaming, "Do you have any idea who I am?!") but so far at least, I'm not getting that subtext, at least not yet. Davies had the black villain die in humiliating ways because he like humiliating people of color, and taking them down a few pegs to be subversive. Ruth, whether she turns out to be evil or not, is interesting and cool on her own. Her race doesn't affect that, or come into how I view her or her potentially villainous role. But I could be wrong. But the signs are good Chinball isn't botching this.
Is it possible Ten's ugly rage in his last episode was the thing that actually triggered and released the Valeyard? Ten went out appallingly, and that wouldn't shock me at all. It was literally the worst regeneration in the show's 50 year history.
Ruth being the Valeyard would also answer the question of what the Master meant when he told Thirteen that the Time Lords were lying about her past the entire time. Maybe the Time Lords caught up to the Valeyard at some point, and wiped the Doctor's mind of her crimes, to give the Eleventh Doctor a fresh slate. It's an interesting theory to me at least.
For the record, just because Capaldi never became the Valeyard, doesn't mean the show actually forgot about it. The Valeyard was specifically mentioned in the Matt Smith episode "The Name Of The Doctor" which is why I expected him to be Capaldi. But this is probably better for the show in hindsight.
But it also says something that the Sontaran Strax once mused: when it comes to the Doctors, the numbering gets a bit confusing down the line.
Captain Jack returning was a brilliant surprise as well, and a reason I am going to enjoy Chibnall's run much more than Stephen Moffat's. Moffat cutting himself off from most of the Russell T Davies' tenure is quite understandable considering the mess Davies left him in Tennant's last episode. But I am still miffed Captain Jack wasn't in the 50th Anniversary special. Captain Jack showing up with little fuss and no spoilers for me leaking out shows that this show doesn't have to be as big as it is in Davies and Moffat's heads. It's okay to bring Captain Jack or Martha Jones back. Nobody will object. Although how and why Jack's aged has yet to be explained.
I cannot say enough nasty things about Russell T Davies. He is one of the worst showrunners who has ever existed, and even though he was the guy who brought Doctor Who back in the first place, the franchise probably would have been better off dead if it meant no Torchwood. In Torchwood Captain Jack isn't just bisexual. He's omnisexual. Except on that show Davies didn't follow the real-world definition of that term. It meant Captain Jack was attracted to everybody and everything. It leads to cute moments like his flirtation with Graham here, but when Jack's former lover Captain John Hart admits he's turned on by poodles I was like, "Fundamentalists use the gayness is a slippery slope to bestiality argument to oppress gay people all the time, and Davies, an actual gay man, just brought up the comparison himself unprovoked, as if it was funny." I remember Jack chiding pedophile / murderer Oswald Danes in Torchwood: Miracle Day for making his life smaller for his actions, but that's pretty much what Davies' version of omnisexuality entailed anyways (until he decided it didn't in that moment). Moffat got a lot of cr*p from gay groups for his crass lesbian jokes with Madame Vastra and Jenny. But he never did anything as remotely damaging to the gay community as that. But the one thing I like about that aspect of Jack is that he never engaged in looksism, and flirted with hotties and dumpy librarians equally. I'm glad Chibnall used the orientation to that effect here at least, as problematic as it otherwise was.
I also love that not only does Jack instantly believe the Doctor is woman without hesitation, but that he can't wait to see it. Which is very unusual for the Companions. Outside of Jack, the Companions always resisted regenerations and considered them bad things. Jack digging it instead is one of his better qualities.
I also like the idea that Jack has been getting into all sorts of epic adventures behind our backs since Torchwood was destroyed. He's at the point where he can face the Cybermen on his own, which is awesome.
My favorite thing in the episode was Yas telling the Doctor not to talk to Ryan like that after she tells him he doesn't really know her, and all of her friends affirming instead that whatever her past or future, they believe she's a good person in the here and now. Davies and Moffat would never do that in a million years for any of the Companions. On some level all of the Davies / Moffat Companions half-hated and resented the Doctor, and that was a way Davies and Moffat strung drama from them. But again, Chibnall gets that this show doesn't need to be the big tragic ordeal it is in Davies and Moffat's heads. Which is another reason I have probably outright enjoyed Jodie Whitaker's tenure as Doctor most, even if I don't think she's the best Doctor. It's just that her portion of the canon is far easier to like and enjoy, which on THIS show, is a very big deal and selling point indeed.
Man, that just blew the show wide open. The last thing to get me quite THAT stirred up about the future was the "Doctor Who?" question at the end of Season 6, which of course Moffat failed to deliver on. I suspect if this IS a Valeyard season, Chibnall is going to turn the canon on it's head the way Moffat promised and failed to do. I'm excited for the first time in years, although admittedly this is still all just conjecture on my end at this point. Which is the selling point of the show. Even its title is a question, and the fact that this episode raised so many interesting ones means its doing it right. *****.
Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure "Cassandra's Revenge"
Weirdly, my overall impression was unfavorable. On paper this episode can't miss. And yet it does. Why? Two major reasons.
The first reason is probably the actual deal-breaker. It's a big episode, but the premise does not lend itself to a musical. Themes of darkness and betrayal are VERY tough to get across in musical numbers. The only successful one I've ever seen was "Hellfire" in "The Hunchback Of Notre". Otherwise it seems weirdly inappropriate for the characters to break into song over these kinds of things.
The second reason is a flaw of the entire series, and it's one of the reasons I knew the betrayal was not going to work last season. But I truly don't believe that Rapunzel will never reach Cassandra. I think it is a matter of time. Which is 100% wrong after the things Cassandra has done this episode. Cassandra literally just tried to kill Rapunzel. If it had been anyone else without that hair, they'd be dead. And this was a problem with Varian's redemption too. I think the series expects the viewer to forgive more than they should. I still haven't forgiven Varian, and after tonight there is no way I'll forgive Cassandra either. But they clearly aren't going to go completely all in on the notion that Cass is now pure evil and cannot be saved. And they should after that. But the fact that they won't is a big flaw in the entire fabric of the series. If truly any action can be forgiven, what is the point of being good or bad? Weirdly, this is a dig that I think can equally apply to salvation in Christianity. But God may be all-forgiving. I'm not. And I shouldn't have to be.
Sigh. I predict a lot of fans will be happy with that. Count me as one of them who wasn't. *1/2.
Star Wars Resistance "The Escape"
As far as series finales go, that was not great. But I'm also not going to hold it against the series. The last fifteen minutes and the climax were strong, although I believe we were owed an Epilogue set after Rise Of Skywalker to let us know everyone survived and was fine (which we didn't get). It's been a problematic series. A problematic finale does not damage my opinion of it.
Do you know what the biggest problem is? You know my answer, right? Tam! THAT is the thing that gets her to switch sides? The genocide of The Last Jedi meant nothing to her? Really when the dude tells her this is just the sort of stuff you have to accept in the First Order, I was like "There is some truth to that." If Tam were truly a loyal and good soldier and / or friend she would stick with her choice for good or ill. She wouldn't ask her friends to risk their lives for a bad decision she made ages ago. She can't just run away and pretend her earlier actions didn't matter because an invisible line has been crossed. That's just wrong.
Her escape also sucked and put her friends in extra danger. While it is true the First Order knew where the Tie Fighters went, if she has just jumped there on her own there would be less complications, and more time to escape. Why did she order her squadron along? One of the reasons I don't want her back on the Colossus is that that ship could do with a few less dumb people who are bad at their jobs. The Resistance is in dire enough straits as it is.
I don't think Ren's character design is quite ugly enough. But then, Adam Driver is an unusually ugly dude.
Lots of deaths in the episode Disney XD would never allow them to get away with were it not the last episode. So it has that going for it.
But that was all right, if not great. Which describes the series in general, so perhaps that was an appropriate way to go out. ***.
Arrow "Fadeout"
I pretty much needed that.
Oliver and Felicity get to spend eternity together. The red pen lets you know it's actually Heaven.
And John is about to become Green Lantern. VERY cool.
I was amazed and loved the amount of cameos from former cast members and major characters they kept quiet. I was very surprised to see Tommy, and Anatoly, and the Al Ghuls. I especially like that in the rebooted Universe Ragman, Tommy, and Moira are alive and Emiko is good. But my favorite thing is that Oliver brought back Quentin, and Quentin gave him his much needed public due. I'm still furious about where we left things off in the future, but hopefully the Canaries spin-off gets picked up and we can save Future William.
I was furious at Emily Bett Rickards for deciding to leave the show in the lurch last season, but she came back when the show really needed her, and was able to fulfill the happy ending hinted at in the last episode of last season. I'm not crazy about the idea of Felicity being dead, but it is a grand, romantic notion anyways.
I like that Laurel is upset that Oliver brought back every important person but Earth 1 Laurel, and Quentin reassures her that she is worth being in his life anyways. I thought that was a beautiful idea.
Crime free and pleasant Star City makes it more like the comics. I like that idea too.
Moira accepting Emiko into her life was character growth. I liked that.
They answered a lot of questions, and set-up some great future notions for the Arrowverse. I'm still mad about Future William, but hopefully the CW follows through. I was very satisfied with that. ****1/2.
Batwoman "An Unbirthday Present"
Kate's like "I rebooted the freaking Universe, and all I got was this lousy continuity headache."
I knew and Kate would go back to save Beth in the car, and I loved every inch of it. Not only was it far too soon to wrap-up that specific plot-point without further exploration, but it was a perfect and elegant way to have Kate work through that specific hang-up. This show has been getting it from all sides from critics. But tell me, how often do you see a storytelling move that simple, yet effective? Not often, and usually on far better shows than the ones that exist in The Arrowverse. Credit where credit is due for that. Seriously haters. Take a chill pill. A show that can do that so easily probably doesn't suck as much as you say it does.
I love that Batwoman is popular in Gotham, and a freaking rock star. I've never seen a Bat treated that way, and I could definitely get used to it.
Mary was used wonderfully in the episode. I loved her entire arc about being surprised at how much she actually likes the woman who shares the face of her mother's killer.
I also like that the origin of the Alice persona was a defense mechanism for trauma and abuse. The monster killing the cat says Alice was needed. But even if that is so, just because bad things happened to Beth as a kid, doesn't excuse the horrible things she's done as an adult. Alice believes she is entitled to behave the way she does because of how the people in her life failed have her. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, she's a grown-@$$ woman with her own agency, who is 100% responsible for her own current choices. I can believe the idea that she needed to create Alice just to survive back then. But she chose to stay Alice when that was no longer an issue, so everything bad she's done past that point is entirely on her.
This was my favorite episode so far, by the way, not counting the Crisis one, which was barely a Batwoman episode at all. *****.
Supegirl "Back From The Future: Part One"
I have a lot to say about that. I don't tend to do ultra in-depth detailed reviews for the Arrowverse shows, at least not recently, not even for the Crisis, but I'm gonna have to deconstruct that a lot.
First I'm going to insult the series: Supergirl, the series, was flawed from the get-go. Even though my major problems didn't start occurring until last year and this one, the series had a time-bomb built into the premise, guaranteed to destroy it. But say what you will about Greg Berlanti and the producers of The Arrowverse shows, if they find a good idea, they latch onto it. They are not afraid to abandon their original plans if something better comes up. There is no better demonstration of this than the fact that originally Arrow was envisioned to be the epic starcrossed romance between Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance. And that would have murdered the show. Not only because Laurel was a despicable, hurtful person I hated. But because the actors didn't have good chemistry, at least not of the romantic variety. Instead Emily Bett Rickards comes along in a cute one-off role that the audience responds to, and the fact that she is the first person we've ever seen make Oliver Queen smile suddenly changes the entire course of the series. A love story between Oliver and somebody as toxic and cruel as Laurel would have been a disaster and destroyed the show.
Supergirl had a similar bomb planted in its premise. It's clear at the beginning of the show, Winn Schott was envisioned to be this version of Smallville's Lex Luthor, and a trusted friend of Kara's who eventually goes bad and turns on her and everyone she cares about. But they made the crazy decision to cast Jeremy Jordan in the role, which was like series suicide for that particular trope. Jordan is so warm, and genuine, and likable I would never have accepted him becoming Toyman. And it became pretty clear earlier on that the rest of the audience felt the same way, and the producers did too, so his role shifted entirely. And I love this episode because it reminds us how badly the series could have gone had the producers not done the necessary course correction. And it's because it's a new Universe, and everything is up in the air, there is a very real chance Winn's happy ending WILL be retconned, and the Evil Toyman will be the New Normal, which is great for the tension of the episode. But in the end, the series erred on the side of Jeremy Jordan's winning performance. When he tells Brainy, "I should hate you. But it worked out so I don't," I thank God the producers were willing to change that specific gameplan once Jordan became the asset to the show he did. Even after he's been gone for a couple of seasons, he fits so seamlessly back into that role. His scenes with Nia were great, especially telling her to always accept herself for who she is. Because she's transgendered that has an addition meaning for both her and the audience. And that's because the series decided to embrace Jeremy Jordan's role as the hero.
Interestingly, The Flash had similar problem built into its premise with the lovable Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost, and they ultimately (and wisely in my opinion) chickened out there too. But Caitlin is an ambiguous enough character to at least explore it to some extent before dismissing the idea. And I like that Supergirl The TV Show won't even burden Winn with that much.
Brainy says his problem was that he didn't factor in Lex's ruthlessness and love of chaos into his equation. Is he a 12th level intellect or not? Because that's a pretty big oversight when you are in the room with Lex freaking Luthor. What bothers me the most (and this bothers me about this Lex in general) is that his plan isn't particularly smart or elegant. Brainy should have have seen it coming a mile away. And if Lex were the genius he thinks he is, he'd remember Brainy is a member of the Legion himself, and have him contact Winn personally to get him the information as a personal favor. The fact that that non-crazy idea occurs to neither of them says neither are as smart as they believe they are.
When Winn comes back from the 30th Century and declares Lex Luthor a hero, that freaking hurts. Unless something big happens to the timeline, this new sucky situation is permanent. That depresses me.
Something good about Lex and this show. John Cryer was originally only going to appear on the show in a one-and-done arc last year. But the producers pitched Cryer the idea of appearing in Crisis, and his role has been upgraded to indefinite. Why is this good? With "Superman And Lois" imminent next season, this says Cryer is all in on this character. It will be nice and shocking to finally have a Superman show with Superman, Lois, and Lex on it all at the same time. That's been SO long since the first season of Lois And Clark, and it's been TOO freaking long. I'm glad Cryer is sticking around, even if I personally loathe this version of Lex.
I have to say Kara offering to help William with the investigation is the correct way to go. As long as she knows what he's doing, she can actually protect him. The partnership was a great idea.
As much as I hate Lex, I DID laugh when he said into the tape recorder that Kara Danvers was Supergirl.
That was great. I'm glad the series did right by Jeremy Jordan. I don't ever believe a series should change its entire arc to please the fans who want something different. But I do believe that producers SHOULD change original plans if they aren't working out as expected. It's not just that the fans would have hated seeing that happen to Winn. It's that it would wind up wrong for the story if it happened. And that is perfectly fine for the producers to realize and change as the series goes on. Fan demand actually has little to do with it.
Great week. *****.
Black Lightning "The Book Of Markovia: Chapter Two: Lynn's Addiction"
Man, TC is going to be really helpful with Kahlil. Gambi befriended the right kid. TC noting most other white people would have ignored him made me wince. Because that observation was completely true, and I felt guilty that it was.
When Jefferson literally makes a veiled threat to cut off Brandon's penis I was like, "Jefferson does not respond to problems fathers go through like a sane or good person." It's a bit rich how upset he is at what Jen has done when pretty much Jefferson's words and actions are always violent, disturbing, and yes, patently creepy where his daughters are concerned. It really bothers me. A lot. The guy is out of control in his personal life. It's hard to root for a hero who is so ill-mannered in every respect in his civilian identity. And fathers so concerned with their protecting their daughters' virtues creep me out, and they should creep everyone else out too. Why the writers gave Jefferson this borderline incestuous facet and think it's funny is beyond me.
In the rebooted Universe Odell is from Gotham. I also strongly suspect he's lying about his past with MLK. Why? Because he's almost certainly lying about golfing with the President. Does the white female lady President seen in the rebooted Universe at the end of the Crisis seem like much of a golfer to you? It's likelier Odell is simply a pathological liar.
What's messed up is that as much as the Pierces hate Odell, they are still unaware of his biggest crime against them: Deliberately hooking Lynn on drugs. That is the major shoe drop I'm waiting for. Jefferson is SO against killing the guy. I hope that idea gives him some perspective.
I had a huge problem with the brothel scene. Full disclosure: I have never visited a cathouse. But I am 100% certain clients would have to check their phones at the door, and not be allowed to wander off by themselves, specifically so they wouldn't do what Big Man just did. I am a total layman regarding that specific institution, but one thing that is consistent in real-life is that criminals are careful, particularly the organized ones. Why wouldn't that be true for brothels too? If it is, the episode is outright badly written. It is very common that writers of the Berlanti shows do no research into any given profession they write about. And one of the most infuriating aspects of them never doing that is that they make sloppy asinine mistakes that you shouldn't even NEED to research, and should just be plain common sense. What irks me is that Black Lightning, the series, does this far less often than the other Arrowverse shows and Riverdale. But apparently it is not immune to lazy writers too busy to research an even cursory understanding of a given subject or profession.
The plot was a bit sloppy and the characters grated. A mixed bag. ***.
Doctor Who "Fugitive Of The Judoon"
Speculation: Ruth is the Valeyard. The true Thirteenth Evil Doctor who somehow existed between the regeneration of David Tennant into Matt Smith. The Valeyard's existence was something I deeply regret the series never got to, but I suspect Chibnall figured out a good way to do it in hindsight. Which is good, because while I erroneously believed Peter Capaldi could be the Valeyard, it's better if we don't witness the Doctor descend into it during their actual tenure. The Valeyard worked as a future threat on the original series. Here it would work as an example of the Doctor's past catching up to her. Ruth is not only the first female Doctor now, but she's the first black one too, which is probably why the show fooled me so well with that twist. But I'm betting she's the Valeyard.
And yes, I'm aware that the first black female Doctor being the Evil Doctor could potentially send a bad message, but I am firmly in the "wait and see" headspace at the moment. Russell Davies in particular had a LOT of problems with racial portrayals (you could set your watch to the black villain inevitably being murdered by the alien while screaming, "Do you have any idea who I am?!") but so far at least, I'm not getting that subtext, at least not yet. Davies had the black villain die in humiliating ways because he like humiliating people of color, and taking them down a few pegs to be subversive. Ruth, whether she turns out to be evil or not, is interesting and cool on her own. Her race doesn't affect that, or come into how I view her or her potentially villainous role. But I could be wrong. But the signs are good Chinball isn't botching this.
Is it possible Ten's ugly rage in his last episode was the thing that actually triggered and released the Valeyard? Ten went out appallingly, and that wouldn't shock me at all. It was literally the worst regeneration in the show's 50 year history.
Ruth being the Valeyard would also answer the question of what the Master meant when he told Thirteen that the Time Lords were lying about her past the entire time. Maybe the Time Lords caught up to the Valeyard at some point, and wiped the Doctor's mind of her crimes, to give the Eleventh Doctor a fresh slate. It's an interesting theory to me at least.
For the record, just because Capaldi never became the Valeyard, doesn't mean the show actually forgot about it. The Valeyard was specifically mentioned in the Matt Smith episode "The Name Of The Doctor" which is why I expected him to be Capaldi. But this is probably better for the show in hindsight.
But it also says something that the Sontaran Strax once mused: when it comes to the Doctors, the numbering gets a bit confusing down the line.
Captain Jack returning was a brilliant surprise as well, and a reason I am going to enjoy Chibnall's run much more than Stephen Moffat's. Moffat cutting himself off from most of the Russell T Davies' tenure is quite understandable considering the mess Davies left him in Tennant's last episode. But I am still miffed Captain Jack wasn't in the 50th Anniversary special. Captain Jack showing up with little fuss and no spoilers for me leaking out shows that this show doesn't have to be as big as it is in Davies and Moffat's heads. It's okay to bring Captain Jack or Martha Jones back. Nobody will object. Although how and why Jack's aged has yet to be explained.
I cannot say enough nasty things about Russell T Davies. He is one of the worst showrunners who has ever existed, and even though he was the guy who brought Doctor Who back in the first place, the franchise probably would have been better off dead if it meant no Torchwood. In Torchwood Captain Jack isn't just bisexual. He's omnisexual. Except on that show Davies didn't follow the real-world definition of that term. It meant Captain Jack was attracted to everybody and everything. It leads to cute moments like his flirtation with Graham here, but when Jack's former lover Captain John Hart admits he's turned on by poodles I was like, "Fundamentalists use the gayness is a slippery slope to bestiality argument to oppress gay people all the time, and Davies, an actual gay man, just brought up the comparison himself unprovoked, as if it was funny." I remember Jack chiding pedophile / murderer Oswald Danes in Torchwood: Miracle Day for making his life smaller for his actions, but that's pretty much what Davies' version of omnisexuality entailed anyways (until he decided it didn't in that moment). Moffat got a lot of cr*p from gay groups for his crass lesbian jokes with Madame Vastra and Jenny. But he never did anything as remotely damaging to the gay community as that. But the one thing I like about that aspect of Jack is that he never engaged in looksism, and flirted with hotties and dumpy librarians equally. I'm glad Chibnall used the orientation to that effect here at least, as problematic as it otherwise was.
I also love that not only does Jack instantly believe the Doctor is woman without hesitation, but that he can't wait to see it. Which is very unusual for the Companions. Outside of Jack, the Companions always resisted regenerations and considered them bad things. Jack digging it instead is one of his better qualities.
I also like the idea that Jack has been getting into all sorts of epic adventures behind our backs since Torchwood was destroyed. He's at the point where he can face the Cybermen on his own, which is awesome.
My favorite thing in the episode was Yas telling the Doctor not to talk to Ryan like that after she tells him he doesn't really know her, and all of her friends affirming instead that whatever her past or future, they believe she's a good person in the here and now. Davies and Moffat would never do that in a million years for any of the Companions. On some level all of the Davies / Moffat Companions half-hated and resented the Doctor, and that was a way Davies and Moffat strung drama from them. But again, Chibnall gets that this show doesn't need to be the big tragic ordeal it is in Davies and Moffat's heads. Which is another reason I have probably outright enjoyed Jodie Whitaker's tenure as Doctor most, even if I don't think she's the best Doctor. It's just that her portion of the canon is far easier to like and enjoy, which on THIS show, is a very big deal and selling point indeed.
Man, that just blew the show wide open. The last thing to get me quite THAT stirred up about the future was the "Doctor Who?" question at the end of Season 6, which of course Moffat failed to deliver on. I suspect if this IS a Valeyard season, Chibnall is going to turn the canon on it's head the way Moffat promised and failed to do. I'm excited for the first time in years, although admittedly this is still all just conjecture on my end at this point. Which is the selling point of the show. Even its title is a question, and the fact that this episode raised so many interesting ones means its doing it right. *****.
Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure "Cassandra's Revenge"
Weirdly, my overall impression was unfavorable. On paper this episode can't miss. And yet it does. Why? Two major reasons.
The first reason is probably the actual deal-breaker. It's a big episode, but the premise does not lend itself to a musical. Themes of darkness and betrayal are VERY tough to get across in musical numbers. The only successful one I've ever seen was "Hellfire" in "The Hunchback Of Notre". Otherwise it seems weirdly inappropriate for the characters to break into song over these kinds of things.
The second reason is a flaw of the entire series, and it's one of the reasons I knew the betrayal was not going to work last season. But I truly don't believe that Rapunzel will never reach Cassandra. I think it is a matter of time. Which is 100% wrong after the things Cassandra has done this episode. Cassandra literally just tried to kill Rapunzel. If it had been anyone else without that hair, they'd be dead. And this was a problem with Varian's redemption too. I think the series expects the viewer to forgive more than they should. I still haven't forgiven Varian, and after tonight there is no way I'll forgive Cassandra either. But they clearly aren't going to go completely all in on the notion that Cass is now pure evil and cannot be saved. And they should after that. But the fact that they won't is a big flaw in the entire fabric of the series. If truly any action can be forgiven, what is the point of being good or bad? Weirdly, this is a dig that I think can equally apply to salvation in Christianity. But God may be all-forgiving. I'm not. And I shouldn't have to be.
Sigh. I predict a lot of fans will be happy with that. Count me as one of them who wasn't. *1/2.
Star Wars Resistance "The Escape"
As far as series finales go, that was not great. But I'm also not going to hold it against the series. The last fifteen minutes and the climax were strong, although I believe we were owed an Epilogue set after Rise Of Skywalker to let us know everyone survived and was fine (which we didn't get). It's been a problematic series. A problematic finale does not damage my opinion of it.
Do you know what the biggest problem is? You know my answer, right? Tam! THAT is the thing that gets her to switch sides? The genocide of The Last Jedi meant nothing to her? Really when the dude tells her this is just the sort of stuff you have to accept in the First Order, I was like "There is some truth to that." If Tam were truly a loyal and good soldier and / or friend she would stick with her choice for good or ill. She wouldn't ask her friends to risk their lives for a bad decision she made ages ago. She can't just run away and pretend her earlier actions didn't matter because an invisible line has been crossed. That's just wrong.
Her escape also sucked and put her friends in extra danger. While it is true the First Order knew where the Tie Fighters went, if she has just jumped there on her own there would be less complications, and more time to escape. Why did she order her squadron along? One of the reasons I don't want her back on the Colossus is that that ship could do with a few less dumb people who are bad at their jobs. The Resistance is in dire enough straits as it is.
I don't think Ren's character design is quite ugly enough. But then, Adam Driver is an unusually ugly dude.
Lots of deaths in the episode Disney XD would never allow them to get away with were it not the last episode. So it has that going for it.
But that was all right, if not great. Which describes the series in general, so perhaps that was an appropriate way to go out. ***.
