The Flash: Season 1, Episode 18

The Flash

Episode Title: “All Star Team Up”

Channel: CW

Director: Kevin Tancharoen

Writers: Grainne Godfree and Kai Yu Wu

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Runtime: 43 min

Rated: TV-PG

Original Air Date: April 14, 2015

Ray and Felicity made a guest appearance this week on The Flash and it seemed to fit them much better than the dark tone on Arrow. There was a lot of humor to be had this week, and the two guest stars were in the middle of most of it. If more of the crossovers in CW's DC universe end up this way the audience is in for a treat. Perhaps most entertaining were the interactions between Palmer and Cisco, you could almost hear them saying out lout, “Did we just become best friends?”

The villain this week was the one glaring weak point in “All Star Team Up.” As is so often the case there wasn't much time devoted to getting to know the character at all. She didn't even get to share her own grievances and what drove her to her actions. Instead that information was passed on to the audience through some clumsy dialogue from Mercury Labs' Dr. Tina McGee. If there was one thing I could change about the show it would definitely be the way the villains are handled.

The main focus this week was on who Barry can trust. His knowledge that Dr. Wells is not a good guy has been taking a toll on his ability to work with the S.T.A.R. Labs crew, but he's not ready to bring Caitlin and Cisco in to the inner circle. Between Barry's inability to trust all of those around him and Eddie being forced to keep Barry's secret from Iris there is a lot of distrust going around. Although Barry decided to let Cisco and Caitlin in on what he knows at the end of the episode the secrecy hasn't ended yet, although Eddie and Iris' relationship might have.

Iris has, in general, been more tolerable than a lot of other love interests on television, but the extent to which she's taking her dissatisfaction over Eddie having a secret is starting to wear thin. I'm not saying she's reached a level of unlikability on par with say, Barbara Kean on Gotham, but she's starting to become an annoyance. I find it hard to believe that someone in a relationship with a police detective would not understand that he can't tell her everything that is going on. I hope they wrap that bit of the story up soon because I'm not sure how much longer it can be dragged out before the audience starts groaning whenever Iris appears on screen.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of the episode revolved around Cisco. He's getting flashes of the events that occurred before Barry turned back time. At the end of the episode when Barry and Joe decided to bring Caitlin and Cisco in on their suspicions Cisco realized that maybe there was something to the visions he'd been experiencing. One has to wonder what kind of catastrophic effect Barry revealing that those visions were a reality could have on Cisco and the world at large. In the same vein, Harrison Wells seems aware that something isn't quite right, but he's playing along for now, waiting for more information to present itself.

Conclusion: “All Star Team Up” was a fun episode of The Flash that still managed to move the season's arc along. Ray and Felicity feel much more suited to the light-hearted surroundings of Central City than the dark atmosphere of Starling City. Now that almost all of the secrets are out in the open it's time to reveal the truth to Iris, before it costs her and Eddie their relationship, and the character goodwill from the audience.

Rating: 7.75/10

Gotham: Season 1, Episode 19

Gotham

Episode Title: “Beasts of Prey”

Channel: Fox

Director: Eagle Egilsson

Writer: Ken Woodruff

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Runtime: 42 min

Rated: TV-14

Original Air Date: April 13, 2015

Gotham is the latest show to return from its March break. With four episodes remaining in season one, this is the point where the show should be ramping up for its season finale. Instead I have no idea where the season is going to end up or what the big moments are going to be. This stems from things being poorly built up and there being too many things going on. In “Beasts of Prey” there are four separate stories being told, and the lack of time to develop any one of them makes it hard to predict what the viewer is supposed to care about.

Gordon had a case brought to his attention, an unsolved murder that a seemingly sincere patrolman asked him to look in to. After spinning their wheels for a bit Gordon and Bullock discover that the murderer is a serial killer that targets the loved ones of the detectives that investigate him. Further investigation into the matter revealed that Commissioner Loeb had to case taken to Gordon in order to set him up in a convoluted revenge plot. It's hinted that Leslie will be the killer's next target, with a plethora of clues and comments pointing to that possibility. It's so obviously what the writers want the audience to think that there seems little chance of it happening. That's the kind of thing that is supposed to come out of nowhere to surprise the viewer, not something we're supposed to see from a mile away. The best thing about these sequences were the flashbacks. They allowed the villain to be more fully realized than most of the case of the week culprits that we've become accustomed to.

After Alfred suffered a setback in his recovery, Bruce set out to discover the motivations behind Reggie Payne's infiltration into their home. After some bumbling about he meets up with Cat and they find Reggie in a drug house. Following their interrogation of Payne, when he admitted to who had him go after Bruce's evidence and Alfred, Cat dropped Payne's drugs from an open window. Reggie's desperate attempt to recover his drugs saw him hanging out the window. Bruce briefly considered pushing the man from the open window, follow Reggie's threats of exposing just how much Bruce knows about Wayne Enterprise's dealing, when he lost his nerve Cat stepped in and pushed Reggie out the window. It was pretty shocking to see a murder committed by a child, although I found myself feeling that Cat's motivation to do such a thing wasn't strong enough for me to buy the whole thing.

Fish is still on the Dollmaker's island, and planning an escape. Every time scenes with Fish come up I find myself just wishing they'd be over. We definitely didn't need to spend so much time with Fish away from Gotham. It seems like Fish's glorious return to Gotham could have been handled very differently. Perhaps a single Fish-centric episode would have been better than the bits and pieces we've been subjected to over the course of the past several episodes. It would have helped with the pacing of the episodes that her story interrupts if nothing else. The other out of place scenes in “Beasts of Prey” were the ones featuring Penguin's storyline. It's another plot line that should have had one big episode devoted to it, instead of the small pieces we've been given so far. Penguin wants to own a rundown bar, has the fingers cut off of a musician in order to make it happen, and then reveals that it's all part of a plan to bring down Maroni. How? Who knows, we were only given four or five minutes to find out that much. It just highlights the fact that there is too much going on for an episode to contain everyone's story. The desire to hit upon every character is really hurting the storytelling in general.

Conclusion: This was a lackluster return from hiatus. There are just too many threads and not enough time to adequately cover them all in every episode. The lack of focus in the storytelling is hurting the individual stories, as there isn't enough time devoted to any one thing to make it seem significant. With only three episodes remaining there doesn't seem like a good way to bring it all into focus in time for the finale.

Rating: 6/10

Game of Thrones: Season 5, Episode 1

Game of Thrones

Episode Title: “The Wars to Come”

Channel: HBO

Director: Michael Slovis

Writers: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy

Runtime: 55 min

Rated: TV-MA

Original Air Date: April 12, 2015

Game of Thrones has consistently been one of my favorite shows on television in recent years. With so few episodes per season the wait for new episodes is always excruciating, but on premiere night the waiting feels worth it. Usually. Sadly, “The Wars to Come” didn't usher in the new season with the same level of excitement I've grown accustomed to. Was it bad TV? Well, no, but it wasn't a good episode of Game of Thrones either. For me this is a show that gets judged against its previous successes more so than the other things on television.

So, where did it go wrong? Game of Thrones has done something very interesting with its season structure. Instead of it all going down in the finale, and the audience waiting for the next season to see the consequences the creators have altered the formula. The ninth episode of the season contains the big blow up, the tenth shows the audience was the ramifications will be, and then the new season's premiere sets us on the next part of the journey. “The Wars to Come” feels more like episode eleven of season four.

That's not to say that nothing interesting happened. The episode opened with a flashback, Ceresi and a friend visiting a witch. Ceresi insisted on hearing what her future would hold, and the news wasn't good. In the present day Ceresi and Jaime are feeling the heat, Tywin is dead and their house is in serious danger. If that wasn't enough, Margaery is already making attempts to get close to Tommen, the new king. Ceresi can see her possible irrelevance on the horizon, but will surely do whatever she can to keep that possibility from coming to pass.

Daenerys is struggling to maintain control over the relatively small kingdom she has accumulated. Despite doing all the things she finds morally right there are elements working against her, the Sons of the Harpy, that are trying to sow discord and bring her down. Additionally, she has one dragon that's loose upon the countryside and two more that she has no control over chained up in a dungeon somewhere. The Mother of Dragons is without the symbol of her power, something that will surely bring her down in the esteem of those whose respect she needs. An eventual meeting between Dany and Tyrion was hinted at, which should help to keep things in her part of the world from getting too boring.

At the Wall, Stannis wants to use Mance's men to retake the North from the Boltons. He offers to spare Mance's life if he'll bow to his authority and encourage the wildlings to fight for Stannis. Jon Snow delivered that message to Mance, and it was met just as expected. Jon tried to point out the good that could come of it, but Mance couldn't do it and maintain the principles he'd preached in bring so many wildling clans together. Mance was led to a stake at which he was to be burned and given one last chance, which he refused. When the burning really got started, Snow couldn't take Mance's attempts at muffling his screams, fetched a bow and arrow, and put the man out of his misery. I know this was supposed to be an emotionally heavy scene, but it just seemed to be missing something. Maybe because we've only seen Mance a few times, I just didn't feel the impact that I think was intended from this scene.

Conclusion: As far as Game of Thrones episodes go, especially premieres, “The Wars to Come” fell short of the mark. There were hints of big things to come this season, but not enough happened to make the ten month wait for more GoT seem worth it. You never want a season premiere to be disappointing, unfortunately that's the best description for it.

Rating: 7.5/10

Saturday WAS Haul Day 38!!

It's been a bit of a weekend, but it's finally time for the Haul.  This week is only comics, as nothing else really struck me while I was out; so here they are!

Angel: Asgard's Assassin #5 by Kieron Gillen, Marguerite Bennett, Phil Jimenez, and Stephanie Hans, Darth Vader #4 by Keiron Gillen, Salvador Larroca, and Edgar Delgado, Rat Queens #10 by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Stjepan Sejic, Saga #27 by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan, and S.H.I.E.L.D. #4 by Mark Waid, Chris Sprouse, Karl Story, and Dono Sanchez Almara.

Saturday is Haul Day 37!!

So, I hadn't planned on making any big purchases for a while, but a buy one, get one 50% off sale on all PS4 games is tough to pass up.  My weakness explains the new video games.  First there's Bloodborne by From Software, from the creator of the Dark Souls series, and following in its footsteps it's supposed to be really hard.  Then we've got Borderlands:  The Handsome Collection which features both Borderlands 2 and Borderlands:  The Pre-Sequel by 2K.  I played the first Borderlands game for hundreds of hours, so I'm pretty excited to dive back into that world.

It was a light week in comics this week, with only Lady Killer #4 by Joelle Jones and Jamie S. Rich, Rocket Raccoon #10 by Skottie Young, Jake Parker and Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Wolf Moon #5 of 6 by Cullen Bunn, Jeremy Haun, and Lee Loughridge coming home with me.

Arrow: Season 3, Episode 18

Arrow

Episode Title: “Public Enemy”

Channel: CW

Director: Dwight Little

Writers: Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle

Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Runtime: 42 min

Rated: TV-14

Original Air Date: April 1, 2015

“Public Enemy” occupied both ends of the spectrum that Arrow has managed to occupy this season. When things are good they're still really good. But when something isn't working it's almost hard to watch. Lets start with the big reveal from two weeks ago, in the flashbacks Oliver has run into Shado! Only it's not Shado it's her twin sister, Mei. It didn't signify a change in direction for the Hong Kong flashbacks. Oliver and Akio are still fleeing ARGUS's men, and Mei allowed them to take refuge in her home. She is understandably perplexed by the American that seems to know her sister and when no answers are forthcoming she calls the police. Of course the police don't show up, an ARGUS goon squad does instead. Luckily for Oliver and Akio, the Yamashiros pick that moment to pick up their trailer and fight the goons off. They decide to leave, and on the way out Oliver tells Mei that her sister and father are dead. She's grateful to him for finally delivering the truth, the reunited Yamashiros and Oliver leave her in a destroyed house. How many more weeks can the flashbacks consist solely of running from ARGUS? After how well the flashbacks of the first two seasons complimented the present day story this season has been a major disappointment in that arena.

Back in the present day things are getting really bad for team Arrow. After Maseo's hit on the mayor, Captain Lance has mobilized the entire police department in an attempt to capture the Arrow. The team believed they had tracked down the League's safe house, and after a brief fight during which, surprise surprise, both Laurel and Roy held their own, Ra's showed himself. He gave Oliver another chance to assume leadership of the League, and upon being refused again revealed that the authorities were on their way. The team's desperate flight from the scene was one of the highlights of the episode, and despite a couple of wrinkles they all managed to get away. Later on Lance was captured by the League and had a face to face meeting with Ra's, who revealed the Arrow's secret identity. Armed with his new information Lance redoubled his efforts to catch Oliver Queen.

In the attack on the mayor's office Ray Palmer was severely injured. He has a clot that could cause a stroke, but the surgery to remove it is very likely to kill him. He has his nano-tech back at his lab that could solve the problem, but the doctor won't allow it. Surprising no one, Felicity brought the nano-tech to him anyway and Ray was cured. What followed was a bit of soap opera that felt like another show entirely. Ray confessed his love and Felicity ran away. Her mother stops her and muddied the waters further by extolling the virtues of both of the men in Felicity's life. These scenes all felt out of place in the rest of the episode. I think it would have been better if there had been a few Palmer-centric episodes, and not this awkward attempt to have him in every episode. With the desperate straits team Arrow is dealing with the Ray/Felicity material just doesn't feel right.

Oliver, faced with no where to run made a decision regarding his next move. I'm not sure if Ra's' plan was to force Oliver to accept his offer, with no where else to run, or to see Oliver captured. Clarification in that regard would have helped the audience know whether to be excited that Oliver had outwitted the Demon's Head or to despair because he'd been driven right where he was wanted. Oliver has apparently confessed everything to Lance and the Starling City Police in return for immunity for the rest of his team. The team of course is unwilling to let things go that way. We saw Lance and Oliver riding in the back of a police van, and having an intense discussion regarding Lance's feelings towards Oliver and all the lies that have been told. Paul Blackthorne really brought it in this scene, sadness and anger alternating on his face. There's a thump on the roof of the vehicle and it stops. Lance got out of the van in time to see a man in the Arrow costume jump down and confess his identity. Roy then pulled the hood from his face, to the surprise of everyone, especially Oliver. This scene was a little problematic, Lance knows Roy isn't the Arrow, he's even called him out on his identity while wearing the Arsenal get-up. Somehow the audience is supposed to believe that this ruse is going to work, but the writers of the next episode are going to have a hard time convincing us of that.

Conclusion: Ra's al Ghul's plan seems to finally be coming to fruition. Oliver is left with very few options as the manhunt for the Arrow finally nabs him. Although the season has finally gotten to a point that feels as dire as last season's Slade Wilson arc the build up has been far less interesting. I feel like the Ray and Felicity content would be better off contained to a few episodes instead of so drastically altering the tone of each episode. The flashbacks have got to improve, it seems like they've been spinning their wheels for weeks.

Rating: 7.75/10

The Flash: Season 1, Episode 17

The Flash

Episode Title: “Tricksters”

Channel: CW

Director: Ralph Hemecker

Writer: Andrew Kreisberg

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Runtime: 43 min

Rated: TV-PG

Original Air Date: March 31, 2015

I'm going to start this off by lamenting that there isn't a new episode of The Flash next week. It seems like they just started back up, taking a week off really kills the momentum for me. Can't let the disappointment of an empty week color my thinking on the episode though, so moving on.

Andrew Kreisberg jumped into the writer's chair this week and it paid immediate dividends. He brought the flashback structure from Arrow over to The Flash in order to finally give us some Harrison Wells back story and the night Barry's mother was killed. The fight scene between Barry and the Reverse Flash in Barry's childhood home was very well done. They must really be stretching that effects budget. As a result of the tussle with the Flash, the Reverse Flash manages to somehow sever his connection to the Speed Force, rendering him normal. When he unmasks the audience sees, not Harrison Wells. We were treated to a couple of scenes featuring Wells and Tess Morgan living their normal, ambitious lives before before the mystery man from Nora Allen's murder crashes their car. Tess is killed and when Harrison escapes the vehicle the man reveals that he is Eobard Thawne. He plugs a device into Wells and then into himself, somehow transferring Wells' likeness onto himself; killing the real Wells in the process. The device seemed like a cheesy way to get there story-wise, but now we know that the Wells Barry knows isn't the real Wells.

Mark Hamill guest starred this week as the Trickster. After an attack on the city by a man claiming that name Joe and Barry go to visit the real Trickster in prison. I know I criticized the villains last week for the over-the-top corniness, but for some reason with this villain the extra cheese just felt right. He was a strange mix of the Joker and Hannibal Lecter, with some really great lines. The one that stuck out was hearing Mark Hamill say the words, “I am your father.” Even though I suspected it was coming it was strangely entertaining to hear him say it. His plan, after reuniting with his son, was a little disappointing though. I would have thought the Trickster would have contingency plans on top of contingency plans. One good thing to come out of it was his plan to deal with the Flash, with a bomb that explodes once his speed drops below 600 MPH. This allowed for Barry to discover one of his abilities. Dr. Wells (I'm going to keep calling him that until the show gives up on it) talks him through phasing through solid materials. Wells recommended a wall, and Barry chose and oil tanker, which should have been more catastrophic than it was, but it put an interesting wrinkle into what Barry knows and thinks he knows about Wells. The other pleasing side effect of this particular arc was that it gave Grant Gustin and John Wesley Shipp a chance to interact. The father/son relationships that Barry shares with both Joe and Henry make for little pieces of 'real' in a show with so many fantastic things happening.

Barry no longer trusts Wells. It's not just a lack of trust, he can barely stand to be around him at this point, he's so convinced that Wells is responsible for his mother's murder. He and Joe have decided that they're going to keep things quiet for now, trying to be more patient than the man that's apparently been planning all of this for the last fifteen years. At the end of the episode Barry seems to have finally reconciled the fact that he's going to have to remain civil. In order to stop Iris from snooping into the case and potentially endangering herself, Joe and Barry made one last shocking decision. Barry revealed his identity to Eddie, enlisting his aid in protecting Iris and in the investigation into Wells. Eddie mentioned at one point that they were going to have a serious discussion regarding deceiving her, but the way it was shown made it seem a little to easy get get him to do it. There's no doubt that it's a decision that will come back to bit all of them, all that remains to be seen is how much damage can be done.

Conclusion: Hamill's performance was fun and full of memorable dialogue, but the real meat and potatoes of this episode came as we finally got some background on Wells and Nora Allen's murder. Taking into consideration the quality of the villain, the revelations regarding the past, and Joe and Barry taking a proactive approach to exposing Wells this was my favorite episode of The Flash yet.

Rating: 8.5/10