Huh, no Supergirl this time. Dang it, CBS, you’re messing up the feng shui of the review!
And this was a pretty big plot week too!
Legends of Tomorrow 1.05 Fail-Safe
LoT continues to steadily increase in quality as the actors get more into their roles and the writing seems to be ironing out the problems with juggling such a large cast. A kind of “running in place” episode, I’ll mention 2 negatives and 2 positives about it.
– They’re still going with the “future cementing” thing (which makes less sense the more you bring it up). Again, I really wish they would just stick with the “can’t cross ourselves” rule, and change a line like Rip’s to Sarah as, “If you don’t take him out now we can’t come back to try again!”
– I am somewhat annoyed that they had to have a fight sequence in the bathhouse. It made the show feel formulaic, like it has to have action every X minutes (which is really only a rule applying to movies made in the 80s – oh wait, that’s when they were – touche, show). It would have been a nice change of pace to see Rip (and/or Cold) negotiate with the mob boss and a scene of them using their brains more than their brawn for once. Heck it seemed a lot like the auction from just 2 episodes ago where an effort to talk their way out breaks down into a fight. Mix it up, writers.
+ The atom suit as a toy just isn’t not funny to me yet. It’s just a great way to take advantage of a set up and make a memorable prop.
+ You know, I wouldn’t mind a running gag of the heroes always killing Savage “wrongly” in this show (so he keeps coming back). It’s just… insane enough to totally fit with all this.
Add in lots of work with Victor Garber and clever use of continuity… this episode earned a solid B grade this time.
The Flash 2.14 Escape From Earth-2
So LOTS of major plot happening this episode!
First up was the elimination of Zoom identity suspects. If there’s any chance that E2 Barry is Zoom, that’s pretty darn unlikely. True, we saw last season a speedster villain appear alongside his disguise but this episode made it seem pretty unlikely (I don’t know if even Zoom is good enough to appear in two places at once while under attack by Killer Frost).
But then the mystery man in the prison was trying to tell them SOMETHING about Jay. Is Zoom in fact the E1 version of Jay? It’s pretty much unlikely even Zoom is fast enough to appear on both sides of the portal/breech. But part of me wonders if he is some kind of separated Hyde to Jay’s Jekyll (it would be the LEAST silly thing ever done in comics). I’ve been pretty “meh” about Zoom but the mystery prisoner (and now Jay’s “death”*) have drawn my interest.
Rest of it wasn’t bad. Villainous Danielle was a bit more subdued this time, which means Grant had to push the acting envelope as muggle Barry. I really can’t decide whether it was well done, or annoying, what’s your vote, readers? I WILL say that, AGAIN, they had the show do the “believe in yourself!” thing but I will admit part of it is because I’ve seen it SO MUCH on these shows, maybe if I had been watching Flash by itself it would be more spread out. Though I was disappointed they didn’t put more effort into investigating alternate ways of freeing Barry (what, Frost can freeze the glass? Or the metal frame holding the glass? Or can someone shoot the glass with the myriad guns they have? Did I blink and miss an attempted shot?) since they could have done all that in the time they took to stand around and talk to each other. (seriously, why can’t heroes save those talks for after out of the lair?) We already had a scene in the episode of the E1 crew working all together (everyone needed) to solve a problem, why not the E2 crew? (since, if you think about it, all the plot needed really was Wells there. Iris, Cisco, & E2 Barry were unnecessary) It would have made for a nice parallel.
So in construction & writing the episode is about a C, but it did have major arc advancement in it, which pushes grades up a little (unless the arc or advancement is too stupid, then it has the opposite effect). Final grade, B-.
*In quotes because nobody in comics can die.
iZombie 2.13 the Whopper
Is this the first episode ever named after the meal Liv prepares for her brains?
Anyway, I need everyone to sit down, and get comfortable.
OMG WHAT IS UP WITH THIS SHOW?
I’ve been begging and waiting for the plots to collide, AND HERE IT IS! But it’s not the full trainwreck, not yet. Right now just Major & Blaine have run into each other and I was disappointed that Major didn’t just haul the latter into Evil Co. and let the boss’s assassins take care of him. But Major is working a long undercover game with Evil Co. so I’m curious as to his plans (the guy must love Burn Notice as much as me). But the police & FBI searches are narrowing in on Blaine and Major as well (I actually think Major exposed his face to the surveillance van on purpose).
And yes, I smiled a bit when Babineaux talked to Major. He’s getting so close to the truth and yet here for a moment, we had Major playing role reversal and pushing Babineaux away. Yes it was possibly stupid and counter-productive, but revenge is sweet (that’s what makes it so tempting). I hope those two get to be regular frenemies when everybody on team protagonist gets on the same page.
Heck I even found Blaine to be pretty enjoyable this episode and I usually love to hate him.
Even more so? Our heroes FINALLY get a positive win at the end! Sure they might reveal it spilled out driving on the way back but at least for now, we closed on a good day. That’s why I love this show, because it realizes that the sweetest victories are the ones the characters earned, and the disappointments are most crushing when you’ve allowed hope spots and victories.
Solid A+ all around this episode.
And for those playing the iZombie/Supernatural drinking game, Laci J. Mailey, who played the girl in the morgue at the start, is the actress who played the deputy at the start of Season 11.
