Wow. This is late. Probably the latest the Triple Feature has ever been.
I finished the Flash and Arrow portions over the weekend, but didn't get around to finishing the Legends portion until tonight. This past week, I was busy with a short film shoot and a television graphics assignment, which ended up taking up much of my free time.
So, again, I have to apologize for the lateness. Luckily, I only have to worry about two of the three shows this weekend since there's no Flash, which is nice because it looks like next week is going to be even busier.
The Flash: “Monster” (Season 3, Episode 5)
I feel like it’s a problem when I’m promised getting to see the Flash fight a monster, in an episode titled “Monster,” and it ends up being my least favourite part of an overall “meh” episode. The monster itself looked great. It should stand with Grodd and King Shark as some of the best visual effects work the series has done. However, the story surrounding ii, I found lacking. Sure, it may have just been a weird plot device to move the Barry/Julian arc forward, but come on. I’d love to have had an actual battle between the Flash and the Cloverfield monster’s smaller cousin. But, nope. It just stomps around for a bit. Then it turns out to be a hologram (how no one noticed beforehand baffles me) created by a cliché, whiny teen. Pfft.
Caitlin’s side quest was another “could’ve been great” story, having her learn more about her powers by working with her estranged mother. While it kind of delivered in seeing more of Caitlin’s powers, the scenes dealing with her and her mother quickly became boring. They argue, they both reveal why they’re so darn angry with each other, and they make up. And then her mother’s scientist buddy tries to take Caitlin hostage because… he’s jealous of her mother too, and that “twist” lasts like 5.5 seconds before hitting a dead end. But after all that, I thought the last scene of the episode, where Caitlin Killer Frosts out on her desk, was a foreboding way to end things for this week.
Ok, so what did I like? Well, Barry and Julian’s bonding arc was good, especially how it ended with them seemingly on the same page. Also, I’m happy they didn’t go with the “my _____ was killed by a meta” story as the reason Julian doesn’t like metahumans. Then there was the HR conspiracy, which pretty entertaining. Again, Tom Cavanagh was excellent and hilarious, and I enjoyed the twist that this version of Wells is an “idea man” rather than an actual scientist. His role on the team and his quest for approval should be fun going forward.
Other Thoughts:
- While I appreciate the Empire Strikes Back reference, Cisco, it’s “aytee-aytee” not “at-at.” Sorry, had to indulge my Star Wars OCD there for a sec.
- Why is HR constantly carrying that drum stick around?
- Actually, now that I think about it, the monster looked more like a smaller version of the Zillo Beast from Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
- Wally didn’t get anything to do this week. Hopefully his streak of irrelevance turns around in the next episode.
Rating: 7.1/10 dark roasts
The Flash is on a break next week, but it looks like Wally will be getting his speed when it returns…
Arrow: “Human Target” (Season 5, Episode 5)
After three weeks of enjoyable yet underwhelming installments, Arrow delivered its best episode since the fifth season premiere, even if its titular Human Target didn’t get much to do.
Picking up where we left off last week, Oliver and the team track down and rescue Rene, only to learn that he was forced to tell Church about Oliver’s being the Green Arrow. This new threat to Oliver’s life leads Diggle to call in his buddy Christopher Chanca, aka Human Target, aka Wil Traval, aka Will Simpson from Jessica Jones (originally titled AKA Jessica Jones). Like I said, Chance didn’t get much to do, besides posing as Oliver for a bit, giving him a few pep talks, and shooting Church’s pointless vigilante bodyguard. I liked the concept behind the character, though, and I’m hoping they can bring the character back somehow and sometime in the future.
Just a side note concerning Chance, I think the scenes where he was posing as Oliver would’ve been better if it was Oliver. I was really enjoying Oliver kick butt at being mayor and solving his mayor problems. The reveal that it was Chance all along seemed a bit lazy and just convinced that Christopher Chance should be the mayor of Star City.
“Human Target” also wrapped up our time with Tobias Church, permanently, and made way for Prometheus. Even though I’m sure Church won’t go on to be a memorable villain, I enjoyed Chad Coleman;s time as the villain. His speech to Rene about how he breaks people was well-acted, and I loved his final battle with the Green Arrow. Then he goes out like a champ at the hands of Prometheus. My only hope for Prometheus’ arc is that it doesn’t become a retread of the Zoom arc from The Flash. Like, I hope it’s not Jay Garrick under that mask.
Other Thoughts:
- I’d love to see more of the Diggle/Rene partnership in the future. I really enjoyed their scenes together this week.
- Seriously, what was with the masked guy Church hired? I thought there would be a big reveal of who he was, judging by the mask and the modulated voice. Nope, he catches an arrow and shoots Oliver, then he gets killed by Chance. Whooptee-doo
- So…is Olicity over now? It seemed like it was made clear this week that both Oliver and Felicity have moved on. If it is done, keep it that way. Please.
Rating: 8.1/10 shovels to the face!
Legends of Tomorrow: “Abominations” (Season 2, Episode 4)
For an episode with a pitch that must’ve been something along the lines of ‘The American Civil War…but with zombies,’ “Abominations” actually had some of the the series’ most serious subject matter. But yeah, it did have its silly moments too.
The dark turn that Jax and Amaya’s trip to a Confederate plantation took surprised me. Sure, when Stein is advising Jax to stay on the ship because of all the racism mucking about during the time period, it didn’t take an accomplished screenwriting analyst to predict that Stein’s warning would come back in some way. What I didn’t predict was Jax and Amaya witnessing a slave being whipped, and Jax experiencing the rampant discrimination personally by spending some time with the plantation’s slaves. It was a serious turn that I think really works for Legends. I’d love to see more stories that strike a fair balance between the time travel romp and the time travel historical drama.
Speaking of romps, the rest of the episode was just that. Sara and Nate’s subplot was probably the least interesting. In fact, I’d say the whole zombie thing wasn’t entirely interesting. The idea of the virus being spread by another time traveler had potential, but is forgotten about by the end. But anyway, the Sara/Nate stuff was still fun, mostly when Nate uses those new powers of his to help blow up the horde. Meanwhile, Ray and Stein dealt with an infected Mick. Though Stein and his plot-convenient fear of zombies took most of the limelight on this end of the story, it was Ray admitting how terrified he was without his suit that was the highlight for me. And it looks like he’s inherited the cold gun. Nice…
Other Thoughts:
- I may have sounded a bit negative about Stein’s fear of zombies, but seeing him freak out was a hoot.
- “Can I call you Marty?”
- I’m sure I’ve said this before, but I’m hoping Mick gets something more meaningful to do rather than just being the brute. Are we ever going to revisit his Kronus days? Him giving Snart’s gun to Ray could be a good start.
Rating: 8.6/10 packed lunches
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