So this time we end up with nobody but iZombie and Legends of Tomorrow with new episodes.

iZombie 2.17 – Reflections of the Way Liv Used to Be

So Liv eats a brain that’s a little too much like her true self. Nice – especially since the show has started it’s been debatable about how much of “true Liv” we’ve ever seen.

Which if that’s true, it makes you wonder if the show had a bit of a theme and the super positive/happy coffee shop owner brain made Major a bit more like his true self as well. I don’t know, but it was great to see him smiling again.

And Blaine’s minions then start a country band! Yes! Banjos is just 1 of 2 factors that make any episode an automatic A+! (see below for the other factor) Ok I exaggerate a little but I think I could watch at least a half hour of just zombies playing junk band instruments. Or in the case of the drug dealers would they be a junkie band?

Then the big moment: Major is captured! I’ll admit, I think the FBI ended up saving him in that moment. We’ll probably confirm later but I do believe Vaughn was planning on killing Major that evening in “Tacoma.” Of course with all the investigations that keep leading to Evil Co AND now the big serial killer in the office, the heat simply must turn up on Vaughn and what he is up to.

Then there’s Clive, questioning whether he has a place in Seattle or should he be in the FBI. As shown in this episode, while officers should obviously always strive to do everything “by-the-book” there are many times and places where the book doesn’t precisely cover. You want an example? Just look at Major. He isn’t killing anyone but kidnapping them which might seem to clear up the criminal law issue, but there is the consideration that the people he is kidnapping are a credible, real potentially dangerous threat to public safety. No joking. Just imagine a natural disaster happened to Seattle and messed up the infrastructure (flood, earthquake, tsunami, etc). It’s bad enough with people trying to get food, we normal humans at least have readied preserved foods we can live off of if need be (canned beans for example). What do zombies in this show have? We don’t know exactly how well prepared some of them are so a disruption in the food chain for just a few days could lead to a whole new disaster in the city: zombie outbreak! In this show the city has a growing problem that the officials are ignoring (or ignorant of) while Major is at least taking steps to resolve it. So should the law punish him for it? I honestly don’t have an answer and mostly just want you, dear reader, to really turn it over in your head. These kinds of tough questions seem poised to strike Babineaux and they might shake him to his core.

So I give this episode… an A for continuing the twists, keeping things shaded in complexity, and remembering continuity! I think next time there will be 2 episodes of iZombie aired back to back to finish out the season so… buckle into your recliners people, this looks to be a wild ride.

Legends of Tomorrow 1.10 – Progeny

Well if I have any complaint about this episode, it’s that it’s overstuffed. Which I far prefer as a flaw in my shows (especially comic/scifi) than any other. Lots of big ideas going on in this episode, so many I wish they had devoted more than one episode to any of them.

Obviously the biggest one is that age old question: Do you kill Baby Hitler? (yes, both capitalized) Thankfully the show quickly addressed the first & obvious solution to it: kidnap said child. History will register the boy as dead but you can let him live out a life sometime in the future. Again, a rich, meaty topic that I wish was dragged out over at least two parts. What did Rip think would happen when the boy was returned? Did he think he could undo years worth of training with 1 act of mercy? (you think a master of time would be more aware of how unrealistic that is) Why not take the kid on a year long journey as a new tutor? Just imagine all the scenes we had this episode with the crew talking to Mick, and then imagine it’s them teaching the boy (yeah I seriously had trouble retaining his name). Rip’s son looked to be close to the same age when he died, so what if Rip dropped boy Hitler off to like… make friends and get to know Hunter Jr? Then there’s more of an impact upon the kid about the devastation his actions can cause. But ignoring any of that, I was also annoyed that the show failed to drive home the dilemma. Let’s be honest, if you were looking straight at this face, most of us would have trouble shooting it and that’s with the full history of our real world weighing upon it. For an audience, a fictional hitler carries even less weight. The show should have taken the effort to weight the choice upon us. Have Rip watch the virus being unleashed, of the kid as an adult giving speeches, let us feel for a moment the monster this person is supposed to become.

Speaking of, the other big theme was family with Hawkgirl remembering hers and Ray Palmer learning that he’s Philip J. Fry… Actually the two stories being intertwined did make me think that if Mr & Mrs Hawks have been finding each other over the years and getting together, and they have in fact had children at times during 4000 years… there’s a decent chance some around them might be descendants of a prior life. Like… Ray could be one. Or Jax. Or Snart. Makes you wonder…

But I did like Ray’s “what have I [unintentionally] done?” reaction. I like to see characters take responsibility for things, especially children. Though I was disappointed that this revelation didn’t change his mind about the plan or his considerations of the future. I mean according to Rip in 5 years his great-[etc]-granddaughter was probably going to suffer and die too and this doesn’t affect him at all? (then again, he did walk into a room and just sucker punch a geek that was only doing his job – so Ray is kind of all over the positive/negative hero map this episode)

The final plot was the crew vs Mick which was good stuff. I even liked the two friends just having a fistfight because let’s face it, 1) that’s in character for them and 2) sometimes guys just need to slug each other a bit and then they can be friends again.

Looks like they’re still keeping Firestorm pretty underpowered (in the comics robots would NOT be a threat to him), Rip is finally showing a bit more capability in the planning department, and Jewel Staite shows up which automatically awards this episode an A+ (I do so love Firefly – and just her in general). Nah final grade is an A-, if only because it makes you wish we had a 2nd part to this rather than that 1950s trash episode. 

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