This week, The Flash concluded it's two-part story that took place on Earth-2, Arrow pitted the team against the Demolition Crew, and the Legends of Tomorrow crew staged a prison break.
The Flash: "Escape From Earth-2" (Season 2, Episode 14)
"Escape From Earth-2" definitely improves upon the problems with last week's Earth-2 adventure, as it shifts the focus back to the crusade to find Zoom and rescue Jessie and now Barry. Though there were some predictable beats, this was still an immensely enjoyable episode.
The episode opens with Zoom scouring the city for Wells, standing and gazing on rooftops and leaving burning messages on buildings. It was a pretty intense scene to open with, and totally reminded the audience of the immediacy and danger of the mission. Zoom continued to be a terrifying presence this week, and it was great to see him have a big role instead of the usual cameo at the end. The writers are definitely milking the "Who is Zoom?" mystery as long as they can. It can be annoying, but the speculation game is always fun.
It was also fun to see Earth-2 Barry have a much larger role after a very small on last week. Grant Gustin did a great job of making the two Barrys different but still the same at their core. Danielle Panabaker continued to be awesome as Killer Frost. While last week, she was full-on villain, this week she was the reluctant guide for Harry and Cisco's crusade. A Han Solo-esque rogue, if you will. Her betrayal and sudden change of heart were kind of predictable, but not so much as to take away from my enjoyment.
Barry and Jessie's time in Zoom's prison were interesting breaks from the episode's main action. Like I said before, Grant Gustin was great, but Violett Beane just wasn't. She's not terrible, it just that she doesn't seem all that invested in the character and the emotion she's supposed to show seems forced rather than natural. The stuff with the iron masked man, though, was really intriguing, and added another wrinkle to this season's overarching mystery.
Other Thoughts:
- The Earth-1 subplot continued to underwhelm me. We finally got Velocity-9, but Geomancer was defeated much too easily after being set up as this really powerful meta.
- It never struck me how much Killer Frost looked like Elsa from Frozen until Cisco brought it up. Thanks, Cisco.
- Theory Time
- The man in the iron mask is the real Jay Garrick, which is why he gave the message "JAY" to Barry. The Jay we've been with so far is a minion of Zoom. Either that, or the masked man is Earth-2 Eddie.
- Zoom is Earth-2 Wally. Wally is obsessed with speed, hence his interest in drag racing. You know who else is obsessed with speed?
Rating: 8.8/10 ice climb-y things
Next week, Diggle and Lyla visit Central City to help Barry take on King Shark...
Arrow: "Code of Silence" (Season 4, Episode 14)
Weakest episode of Season 4 so far? You betchya.
Look, like "Sins of the Father" last week, there was still stuff to enjoy in "Code of Silence," but this was a filler episode. A really generic filler episode with a bunch of Arrow clichés.
The worst cliché was the subplot with Lance and Donna. Paul Blackthorne and Charlotte Ross were both excellent, but the whole "break-up with someone because I have to protect them" song has been sung so many times, not just on Arrow. And the fact the two literally kissed and made up by the end made the whole ordeal all the more unnecessary.
I thought the action scenes with the Demolition Crew were awesome. The members of the crew could've gotten a bit more backstory and development, but what run of the mill Arrow episode gives us well=developed villains of the week? Also, they used nail guns like they were actual guns and that was cool so I'm gonna shut up.
The attempts at humour this week were cringeworthy. The glitter gag and the "pin the ____ on the hunk" running gag didn't fit Arrow's very regimented sense of humour, so those jokes stuck out like a sore thumb. Oliver and Thea's "nervous bladder" excuse was probably one of the worst bits of writing in the show's run. Not only did it feel like something out of Hannah Montana, but HOW WOULD ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS BELIEVE SUCH A LAME EXCUSE? Fire whoever wrote that line immediately. And what was with the joke about Curtis' screensaver? It went nowhere. It...ugh.
I think it's fair to quickly talk about some of the things I did like this week. The HIVE meeting was fun, especially Darhk going all Darth Vader on that one guy. James Bamford, who directed one of the best episodes of the season so far, "Brotherhood," directed this episode, and he should direct more often. He knows how to do action, that's for sure. And Thea finding out about William and her and Oliver's conversation about it was well done and well-acted by Stephen Amell and Willa Holland. With William in the hands of Darhk, next week should be the week the William bombshell finally blows for the rest of the team.
Other Thoughts:
- Some not-so subtle wordplay in this episode, with Oliver calling Ruve a "DARHK horse" and telling Curtis that he's "terrific." Smooth.
- Speaking of Curtis, his "gift of walking again" to Felicity was heartwarming, but I feel like it's a bit too soon for her to be out of the wheelchair. Regaining the ability to walk should never be that easy.
- Another thing I really didn't like: The episode spends so much time building up to Oliver and Ruve's debate, then it's completely skipped. If it were up to me. we'd see the debate, and Ruve would drop the William bomb during it, making Oliver's dismissal of the issue earlier in the episode oh so ironic.
Rating: 6.4/10 slow cookers
Next week, Oliver sets out to rescue William with some help from Vixen...
Legends of Tomorrow: "Fail-Safe" (Season 1, Episode 5)
"Fail-Safe" was a much darker episode of Legends, and the dread hanging above turned out to be the episode's greatest strength and made the finale that much more enjoyable.
Picking up where "White Knights" left off, Stein, Ray and Rory are being held in a rough Russian gulag. While Vostok and Savage attempt to force Stein into giving them the final piece in their Firestorm conundrum, Ray and Rory endure some brutal torture at the hands of the guards as well as their fellow prisoners. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew set out to rescue the trio.
All the stuff that's makes Legends terrific in its run so far is all still here, despite the darker tone. The interactions between the main cast continues to be golden. Pairing Ray and Rory together was a fun move, given Ray's almost eternal optimism and Rory's more gruff nature. The character development we got for good ol' Heatwave this week was much needed, but not overdone. Ray taking a beating for him and Rory's insistence to Snart that they don't leave him behind was nice, but his "More drinking, less feeling" remark shows he's still the same brawler we know and love. The Sara and Snart team-up was also a hoot. Caity Lotz and Wentworth Miller have great chemistry, and they do a fantastic job at displaying the mutual respect between the two characters. Snart talking down Sara from killing Stein was very well-written. But the real star this week was Victor Garber as Stein. He proved Stein, though not a fighter, is one pretty tough dude.
I didn't really like how the rest of the crew (Kendra, Jax, and Rip) took backseats this week, especially Jax, Given his partnership with Stein, you'd think he'd be the one taking center stage this week, but apparently that wasn't the plan. His sudden struggle with running felt totally out of the blue, but his "Barry Allen who?" quip was pretty funny. Kendra and Rip also got their moments to shine too in their brief confrontation with Savage. Savage telling Rip that he's memorized his wife and son's faces was chilling, and I like how Rip killed Savage again,
And, oh man, that ending!
Other Thoughts:
- Cisco's cameo felt very out of place.It didn't amount to anything or come into play later. When I heard he'd be appearing on the show, I thought we'd get to see future Cisco. Maybe they're saving that for later.
- Are they building up a Sara/Rip romance? That tension's so thick I could cut it with a knife.
- Way to blow Oliver's secret identity in front of two criminals, Ray!
- "This isn't my first prison break." Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh. I see what you did there, Snart.
Rating: 9.0/10 sandwiches
Next week, the crew hangs out with a new Green Arrow, an old Green Arrow...and a new Deathstroke?
Noah
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