DC TV Weekly #18

Supergirl 'Starcrossed' Review
Yet again Supergirl kinda gets the short end of the crossover, only actually being the set up for the crossover within the final few minutes. A crossover I very much wanna talk about, so Imma make this short. Mon-El's true origins are revealed, his parents are obvious Trump metaphors, Kara breaks it off with him and everyone on the internet points out how everything he does is very similar to emotionally manipulative relationships. Bit of advice: Don't drop the "I love you" bomb as a last ditch attempt to save a relationship. Or break into a girl's apartment. Or disrespect her privacy. Or lie to her about who you are. Or complain that you miss the days where you could be misogynistic--Wow Mon-El is a really unlikable character. Trying to draw parallels to Winn's relationship by saying "They didn't lie to hurt us" yeahhhhhh-no. Winn's girlfriend lied to save her brother. Mon-El lied because he didn't want people to know how shitty he's been in the past. So, in summary: Mon-El is shitty. 5/10. To the musical!

The Flash 'Duet' Review
Way back when I reviewed the first season of Flash on my YouTube channel I said that I wanted a musical episode. Now it's finally here. The music meister shows up, forces Barry and Kara into a dream where they're the main characters in a 50's musical, with all of their friends (At least the ones who can sing) are characters, with over the top accents, costumes and gay gangsters...I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love the fact that shows this silly exist. The music itself was enjoyable, even if there wasn't that many, and only two originals, but golly were they as over the top and full of passion and effort as any good musical should be. The highlight being 'Superfriend' because it was adorable, had clever lyrics and is just Barry and Kara complimenting each other because these two are adorable bunnies. Meanwhile in the real world we have Cisco, Kid Flash and Martian Manhunter doing all the superhero-ing, so looks like we get to have our cake and eat it too. The Music Meister as a villain was incredibly entertaining, mostly because he's not a villain, he's basically just a fan with supernatural abilities who decided to manipulate the world so two couples would get together and realise the importance of love and all that gooey shit (Hey, it's a musical, gotta have the gooey shit). Though I wish the songs did tie into the story a little more, and they had more original pieces, I friggin' loved this episode, I loved the songs, I loved seeing the two shows crossover, I loved the setting, it's just brilliant. 10/10.

Legends of Tomorrow 'Fellowship of the Spear' Review
It seems the writers realised what their two best episodes were this season, the George Lucas episode because it was filled with nerdy references and was filled with genuine charm. Then there was the Camelot episode for its massive scale and heartfelt story. Well, it seems they've decided to combine those two into one with the Legends travelling back to WW1 where they need the help of J.R.R Tolkein. So of course, it's stuffed with references to The Lord of the Rings, but it also represents Tolkein as a brave and respectable person. The entire episode certainly has an optimistic and pacifistic vibe to it considering the setting. But in reality that is actually quite fitting. The Legends are able to temporarily halt the war so the injured could be rescued, appealing the every soldier's decency, which is very similar to an actual event that happened in the war when the halted it for Christmas day. Then there is everything with Mick...which I don't know how to feel about that. On one hand, I can totally see his point of view, the team never really trusted him except for Amaya, and he has always followed Snart and seen him as his best friend, of course he would trust him. But at the same time he has changed during his time with the Legends. There is genuine conflict in this story, it's not just black & white like most of the stories are in these shows. I mean obviously siding with Snart is wrong in this scenario, but from Mick's point of view, I can see the conflict. All around, this was a large scale story with a very human core, fun references and legitimate drama for one of the lead characters. 9/10.

Arrow 'Kapiushon' Review
An episode where the flashbacks not only dominate the story...but are also really good? What world are we living in!? It is rare that the flashbacks feel as important as they do to the story as they did in this episode, but also the placements of them inparticular is what impresses me. Usually they feel like they put them in whenever they need a break from the main story, but they seamlessly tied in here, with the editing getting even more rapid as the tension grows, truly some of the best and most purposeful editing the show has had. Stepehn Amell is also wonderful in this episode, some of the best acting we've seen from him, he's desperate, he's broken, he's scared, he's angry, he's homicidal, things we never get to see from Oliver (Well, maybe the anger every so often). There's also a minimalism to the episode, focusing almost solely on Oliver with no stupid B-Plot and the other characters are kept to only to when they're needed. And hey, we get to see Artemis again, finally. Returning to the idea of Oliver killing is redundant, but they tackled it from a new angle and gave it more gravitas than they usually do. Amazing performances, editing, pacing, structure. Superb episode, 9/10.

This is why I love DC TV, on one show we have a dimension hoping musical lover, and on another we have brutal and gritty torture...diverse?


-Danny