NOBODY’S TV SCHEDULE MAKES SENSE ANY MORE!
Ok, let’s see if we can get back on track here…
iZombie
(2.10) Method Head
Was… was this two episodes stitched together? it’s like we started to get a holiday episode… but then shifted gears to a post holiday one. I guess to let us know the timeline of the series and when everything is supposed to take place?
Well it did also serve to show how more than a day had passed between the conclusion of the previous episode and this one. Which I kind of applaud but there’s still the fact that what was shaping up to be a major shake up… was fixed back to status quo by the end of the next episode. I was hoping we’d get at least a few out-of-the-box examinations of the show before going back to the usual. And I say this as someone who loves Babineaux (to the point I just spelled his name right on the first try).
We see that Blaine’s big zombie enforcer is back (yay for fun protagonists) and Blaine’s luck at staying off the law’s radar may run out soon. Should be interesting though i still find it hard to invest much interest in the ongoings of a mob when zombies might be spreading about and Evil Co is up to something probably worse. Will the mob & Evil Co intersect? If so, will they find each other a friend or a foe?
Speaking off, Major’s efforts to infiltrate Evil Co IS what I find myself invested in. We’ve come a long way from the Major of S1 who was just a little bit naive to one who is crafty and becoming dangerously street smart. While it probably won’t happen given TV budgets & limitations, part of me wonders what would happen if Major uses his growing tactical ability to take over for Mr. Big and then uses the criminal underworld to fight Evil Co (with Liv still on the force setting them up as Batman & Catwoman scenario).
Mystery of the Week (MotW) was ok, more entertaining for the opportunity towards meta-jokes than anything really earth shaking. That standard plus the reverting back to status quo pushes this episode down to a B grade. Though I still say this show is probably one of the best that people aren’t watching.
The Flash
(2.10) Potential Energy
Alternate title for this episode: “Heartbreak.”
Well for me that came far more from Joe & Wally’s interaction than Patty & Barry’s. I didn’t think Patty would stay in the show forever, but I thought she would at least last to the end of the season, let us see a little of Barry in a relationship. (I don’t think any of his has lasted longer than 3 episodes have they?)
The stake out scenes with Cisco & Wells was also very well done and I have to commend the actors because they give a great sense of what could have been. Obviously Wells shouldn’t have to deal with the team’s mistrust since it technically wasn’t him that betrayed them, but it was his face. Likewise Cisco never interacted with the real Wells, just a pretender. Yet here (and especially the next episode) we can see the actors show us that the two of them might have been really great friends after all had their relationship been based on truth. It all ends up adding to just how villainous the Reverse-Flash was.
As for the rest, I admit I never thought I’d see the Turtle in a live action episode though I wasn’t thrilled the solution to his defeat was just “try harder!” Then there’s also the growing question of, if Wells figures out how to steal Barry’s speed for Zoom, what will keep him from just stealing the speed from Zoom for Barry? And why isn’t he mentioning this to the others? Thus I’d give this about a… B+ grade.
(2.11) The Reverse-Flash Returns
Alternate title for this episode, “Rollercoaster.” I mean when it’s good, it’s damn good but man oh man do some moments make me groan.
The opening with the runaway truck? AWESOME! Well done!
However there’s the return of the S1 villain. I mean I get why they need evil Flash for story purposes but… it’s really straining the story support to have RF stuck in a time loop resulting in his own nonexistence. I really wish they had run with something different like an “altered” Thawne who’s fate was more uncertain so maybe there would have been more tragedy to him becoming a villain because the gang treated him like one.
On the other hand, we did not see much of Matt Letscher last season but here he pulled off being the “frenemy” of Barry quite well. It’s very easy for the viewer to believe that that man is the one behind the face of Harrison Wells in S1. A fine job of acting.
But there’s still the fact that the only reason they release RF is because “Cisco needs it” and… that’s just a bit of a cop out. Heck I kept waiting for them to at least propose “feeding” RF to Zoom, maybe even keep him around for awhile until attempting that plan only to have it backfire, RF returns to the future, something interesting. Instead it’s… returning to status quo.
Still, Barry’s send off to Patty on the train was nice. And the reveal that the E1 version of Jay is “Hunter Zoloman.” Comic fans know that’s the “real name” of Zoom but supposedly the show creators have sworn that’s not the name of Zoom this time. Are they telling the truth? E1 Jay being Zoom would… fit in a lot of ways (like how he could take Jay’s speed but apparently needs help taking Barry’s) including the necessity for him to keep his face hidden. But if they’re honest, that still leaves open the possibility of Zoom being the E2 Barry or Papa Allen. Maybe TV4TRoU should start a betting pool…
All in all I’ll give this… about a B-. The headache of time doing whatever the plot requires while also having the reset button hit in a very ham-handed way drags down an otherwise superior episode. Had they done more with the return of the S1 villain and really ran with the idea (pun intended) this would have been an A+ score easy.
