DC TV Weekly #20

Part of me hates these several week gaps between the DC Shows. However this also means the wait between this season and the next will be even shorter, so it's a worthy sacrifice I suppose.

Supergirl 'Ace Reporter' Review
Several years ago I used to make fun of The CW for having nothing but melodramatic schlock on, now here I am, excited because one of my favourite actors from one of their great TV Shows makes a guest appearance in another of their great TV Shows. The times they did change. Rahul Kohli, best known as Ravi from iZombie guest starred as a genius billionaire who has invented nanobots that can heal any injury. But of course, like nanobots always do, they end up being used for villainous intentions. Not by Kohli of course, but by his...Partner? Assistant? And her evil plan is...Well I don't know. Almost nothing about this makes any sense. Honestly I just wish they made Kohli the proper villain because it's fun seeing him have to play a completely different character from his one in iZombie. However, that's only one half of the main story, the other half is Kara and Snapper's bitching at each other over what counts as being a reporter, and big surprise(!) Snapper is an unreasonably judgemental and pretentious twat and the idea of being a reporter in a series about fighting aliens is still boring as all hell. We also got more of James being a really bad superhero, capturing an armed robber and letting him go when he finds out he's just a teenager...really James? Not going to wait till the police show up? Not going to talk to the kid? Just instantly make a snapped judgement and let the armed robber go? Wow you suck. What did work well for the episode was Lena's development and further insight into her history and her fear that she shares a dark-side like the rest of her family, but that's only a portion of what feels like a lazy episode where the majority of the cast have disappeared for. 6/10.

The Flash 'The Once and Future Flash' Review
...It's not worth the rant. Because despite the multiple times Barry has learnt that travelling through time is a bad thing, he still decides to go ahead and do it. Despite Jay warning him not to do it, then later sacrificing himself because he so badly believed Barry was worthy of being The Flash, and here he goes and tramples on that legacy. Thing is, I'm not mad, because I'm not shocked. I'm not shocked that our hero has gone back on his word, committed a stupid mistake that he has made several times in the past and refuses to learn. The Flash, one of my favourite superheroes, the heart of the DC Universe, has turned into a complete and utter moron. It's not even the action itself that is stupid, but what he does while in the future, not being allowed to leave until he helps make things better for the people in this timeline. You dumbasses do realise that if he goes back in time with the new information then he can prevent this timeline from ever existing? But instead you have him risk himself against Mirror Master and Top, a fight that in reality he should have won with ease. But no, instead Cisco is a moron, future Barry is a dick and H.R. is for some reason famous (You remember he has the face of a known murderer right?). They even address in the episode that Barry breaks his promise, and they sound shocked about it, really? Barry Allen breaking his promise, what a surprise(!). Can I think of anything positive to even slightly redeem this episode? Well, Jesse L Martin was phenomenal as always, especially during the graveyard scene, and that new Flash suit looks really cool. But in actuality, I just can't give this a positive rating, I want to give it the lowest grade possible but at this point I'm just tired of being mad at The Flash. 2/10.

Arrow 'Dangerous Liaisons' Review
Why don't I have more to say about this episode? I feel like Felicity betraying the team should have left a bigger impact than it did. After all her betrayal isn't entirely unwarranted, not is it clear whether or not it was the right thing. She's had a tough year, and has spent the last 5 years watching the people closest to her make ethically questionable decisions, and the fact that the episode ends without saying what she did was right or wrong feels like a smart choice. The only conclusion I can come to is that the emotional stakes didn't feel high enough. For Felicity of all people to go against Team Arrow, not just use another team, but to actively sabotage Team Arrow feels like this should have lead to a lot more drama, but instead everyone treated her like "Jeez Felicity, this really sucks, cut it out huh?". When I feel like this is one of those few times where Oliver would have had reasoning on his side to be pissed off with a member of his team. This emotional void is made even more clear considering the subplot with Rene and his daughter. Granted while it feels like it came from a completely different episode, the scenes of him talking about how he hurt her, and then getting reunited with her were genuinely touching, which is even more impressive considering he's one of my least favourite characters. So while the main plot was average at best (Underwhelming would probably be more accurate) the B-plot actually ended up being the more engaging story. Let's call it even and go with a 5/10.

Why is it always the first episode after a big break is always one of the weaker ones?

-Danny