Mission: Impossible Franchise - Cheap Thoughts

In the build up to Mission: Impossible - Fallout, I decided to go back and rewatch all of the Mission: Impossible films, because frankly, this is the best action franchise of all time. When you really think about it, what other franchise is this consistently good? A series of movies that are constantly pushing the boundaries of what they can get away with, becoming a breeding ground for talented directors to experiment and make every other movie look lazy by comparison, so let's talk about them.

Mission: Impossible (1996)
In a lot of ways, the first Mission: Impossible film feels like the black sheep of the Mission: Impossible franchise, for one thing, this is not an action film, it's just a straight up spy film. There's a severe lack of actual action in the film, and even the big set piece is a CGI train sequence, can you imagine something less Mission: Impossible than CGI? Which is not to insult the film in any way, it established the main quality of this franchise that it takes a director and let's them make whatever they want. In this case you have Brian DePalma, a man who likes to experiment with unconventional camera work to create this distinct yet awkward atmosphere throughout the whole film that truly makes it something memorable and helps dig in the paranoia and frantic nature of Ethan Hunt. This is a movie where the most iconic scene is the characters trying to be as quiet as possible. This movie isn't exciting but it is memorable both within it's own franchise and in the spy genre as a whole.

Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Considering this is the only Mission: Impossible film that is viewed as "bad" it's pretty good to know this franchise's rock bottom isn't that deep. A big part of me believes the backlash for this film comes from the initial jarring tone from the first film to this one. The second film was directed by John Woo, an action filmmaker best known for his in your face, flashy and over the top movies with classic films such as Hard Boiled, A Better Tomorrow & Face-Off. Now this is where I can see how he can be an odd choice, while the first one was quiet, this one is loud; the first one travelled all around the world, this one stays mostly in Australia for some reason; while the first one was subtle, this film is everything but. The inconsistencies are prevalent, but considering this is a series of films that is beloved because of it's inconsistencies between films, that initial juxtaposition doesn't sting as much anymore, and looking at it in retrospective, it's not that bad. Yes, the crew is the weakest in the series, the villains aren't that great and Ethan Hunt is kind of an unlikeable dick in the movie, overall, I'd compare this movie to a fireworks display, it's bright and entertaining but offers nothing of value, but you wouldn't expect it to. I can watch this movie and be decently entertained, and when the worst movie in your franchise can still be described as watchable, i'd still call that a success.

Mission: Impossible III (2006)
In someways I can't help but feel this might be my least favourite of the franchise, not because it's worse than the second one, but because it feels less distinct. Directed by J.J. Abrams who while has made many films I love, he's a director that lacks style. When you're watching a Brian DePalma film, you know you're watching a Brian DePalma film. When you're watching a John Woo film, you know you're watching a John Woo film. Honestly this film feels like it could just be marketed as any spy film, it almost seems embarrassed to be a Mission: Impossible film, even the theme song is missing through the majority of the film. I can certainly see while a less in-your-face director would be appealing, the film is very easy to digest for major audiences and I still very much enjoy the film for what it is. Heck, it has the best villain in the entire franchise with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and his opening torture scene is without a doubt one of the best scenes in the whole series. Furthermore is that the film puts so little effort into explaining the MacGuffin it kind of becomes brilliant again, they know we don't care, it's just an object to be fought for, so why bother trying to explain it when we can just cut straight to people fighting over it? While this movie is still good, it's still exciting, entertaining and enjoyable, and I understand why they had to go in this direction after the "failure" of the second one. I can't help but feel it's missing the flare this franchise lives on.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
In a lot of ways, this is the film that completely reinvigorated the Mission: Impossible franchise, not only being the most successful instalment in the franchise at the time, but with it's characters and structure. Brad Bird rather than ignoring everything else in the series like all the other films did, decided to take those elements and build upon them, turning Benji into an actual field agent, taking Julia and turning her into both an introduction for Brandt as well as give Ethan a bit more emotional baggage. However his biggest contribution is the insane dedication to practical stuntwork. Even within the film's text there's a return to analogue filmmaking with the technology and tools the team often relies on constantly breaks down, so the return to the "doing it by hand" style is both present thematically and with the way it's made. The Burj Khalifa scene is as iconic as it can be, and doesn't need me to explain how fantastic it is but seriously, nearly a decade later and the scene still blows my mind that they actually did that and how committed Tom Cruise is making these movies as good as possible.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
Well apparently Chris McQuarrie took the Burj Khalifa scene as a challenge because he was determined to top it with this film. Yet again the stuntwork is magnificent in this instalment, but not just for huge set pieces such as the airplane opening or the underwater scene, but with action scenes such as the car chase turned bike chase in Dubai which is filled with so many small but insane moments that could not have been easy to pull off. It's also the first of the films to analyse Ethan Hunt as a character, that being the insane lengths he'll go to when trying to catch a criminal, endangering himself, his team and even the Prime Minister of Great Britain are all worth the risk. On top of that, the introduction of Ilsa Faust who is not only drowning in style but might be one of the most interesting characters the series has ever produced, acting as an equal or even greater agent than Hunt who you're never entirely sure whose side she's on. I have a hard time deciding between GP and RN over which is my favourite, the one who built this franchise up from nothing or the one who took what was built and only improved it? Either way they're both fantastic films that I love dearly.

Best Things June 2018

My Hero Academia - UA Sports Festival Arc
Yes, I'm very late to the party here but I finally binge watched My Hero Academia and fell in love with it. Well, that's not true, I watched the first season roughly a year ago and thought it was just okay. However, on a whim I decided to check out the second season and I blew through the whole show within a matter of days. Rather than talk about the show as a whole and why it's so good (Because you already know why) I'd rather talk about the specific storyline that made me a fan, the Tournament Arc. One of the bigger issues that prevented me from loving the show was simply the quantity of characters introduced in the first season, most of which were severely underdeveloped. Now you might say "Well yeah, it's impossible to develop 20+ characters in just 13 episodes" then...don't introduce 20+ characters. The Tournament Arc format allows for individual focus on just one or two characters, giving them a chance to develop them specifically, as well as allow for creative and well animated fight scenes given the variety of powers on display. As well as earlier rounds which saw characters teaming up, playing on their dynamics. Characters such as Todoroki and Uraraka in particular saw their backstories and motives be explored, making me far more invested in them than the first season came close to achieving. Of course the highlight of the arc was the fight between Todoroki and Midoriya, it's thriving with emotion, character development, brutal fighting and some of the best animation the series has ever seen. It's an iconic moment for the series and stands out as for me, the best moment of the show so far.

Machete Kills
And now, for something completely different. I never saw the original Machete, heck, I had no intention of watching this film, it just happened cause a friend recommended it. Little did I know I was about to watch a balls to the wall, exploitation slaughterfest B-Movie that was some of the most fun I've had watching a film in a long time. Everything in this film is over the top, with a nonsensical plot, obviously bad effects, but so much damn passion, violence and cheese behind it that every other second I was laughing at the absolute tongue-in-cheek nature of the whole thing. Judging from it's critical reception the general consensus seems to be the film doesn't have the initial surprise the first one had and is mostly doing the same thing, just longer and bigger. Which is probably a fair argument, I have never seen the first one so the shock value was obviously not lost on me, though I will agree somewhere around the end of the 2nd act the film starts to lose momentum, but thankfully picks it back up for the climax. If you're a fan of films like Black Dynamite then I could definitely see this being your type of thing, it was just a ton of fun.

Set It Up
I'll be honest, so far this year has not been the best of years for movies, we're halfway through and I can think of maybe 2 films that I'd put on my top 10 of the year list. However, one that I saw that my thoughts of have only improved with time is Set It Up. A romantic comedy about two over-worked assistants trying to set-up their bosses so they can have time off and in the end of course fall for each other. In my mind, the first half of this film was excellent, the actors has superb chemistry, the dialogue was whitty and sincere, it had all the makings of being a great rom-com. Unfortunately it loses some of that charm in the second half where it tries to have its cake and eat it too, by making fun of rom-com cliches while also indulging in them at the same time. For example, it mocks the whole "Running to the airport" trope which after watching this film made me realise I have never legitimately seen that trope in film, just times when people have made fun of it. Then also it ends with a cliche speech of love, with violin music swelling as the crescendo hits with a kiss (Because that's not cliched at all). It's not too painful to watch as the jokes are still funny even when the romance is no longer endearing. But now, having several weeks to sit on it, I find myself remembering the parts I enjoyed more and more, and the parts that bothered me less and less. Most likely due to the charming performance given Zoey Deutch who is a star in the making, as well as the great dialogue written by Katie Silberman, the film overall wins me over, especially after watching another Netflix Original Rom-Com shortly after this that was not nearly as well written or engrossing that just made me respect this film in hindsight just a little more.

Best Things of May 2018

Well, got all my coursework finally done, guess that means I have all the free time in the world to enjoy as many movies and videogames as I want...right?

God of War
A God of War game inspired by The Last of Us? Sure, I'm up for that. In a lot of ways God of War does things perfectly, in other ways it feels like it doesn't give enough. For the sake of trying to remain positive, let's discuss the good. This game is a technical marvel, the graphics are outstandingly beautiful, the sound design is excellent, the smallest of details given extra care, and of course the fact the whole game is one unbroken shot with no cutscenes or loading times makes it stand out like no other. The facial animations on Kratos show a wide range of emotions that games of the past couldn't get across, making the character more expressive, nuanced and interesting that ever before. The gameplay is a helluva lot of fun, a simple game mechanic like throwing an axe has somehow become an addiction to me, it was a great balance between challenging and fun throughout. Where I feel it doesn't give enough however is within the story. Now conceptually I think this is perfect, there's no revenge plot or desire to murder the gods, Kratos and his son Artreus want to take his dead mother's ashes to the highest peak and spread them in the wind. A goal that's small yet personal to the main characters that they'll go to endless lengths to achieve it. Where it goes wrong is that there are about a thousand detours stopping us from doing it "We made it! No wait, turns out we need to go here to achieve our goal!" "We made it again! No wait, turns out we need to go get this thing in order to achieve our goal!" There are multiple fake-outs and twists to drag this along, then it dares to end it on a cliffhanger telling us there is more to come. I understand you don't want to show your whole hand in the first play, but intentionally dragging out a story as long as possible then telling us there's more but "oops! we ran out of time!" feels like an unnecessary tease. If your main inspiration was The Last of Us, they didn't end the game at Autumn and say "Come back next time for the rest!". So yeah, plenty to love, plenty to be annoyed with, but overall I'd highly recommend it.

IT - Audiobook
I gotta be honest a big part of me is putting this on here just cause I finished the damn thing. At 44 hours, this is the longest audiobook I've ever listened to, and it took me 3 months to get through it all. I haven't had a book challenge like this since I read A Song of Ice & Fire in 6th form. In someways the length is a great aid to the book, Stephen King is able to write in such detail, create such a well defined world and characters, describing every emotion, every physical action, every aspect of every location, it's one of the best portraits ever painted in a book. It also allows for some of the more...obscure elements-let's say-to seem more plausible, because from a distance, while a fair portion of this book seems like utter nonsense, when you talk about it for long enough, eventually you get drawn in. However, the length is also a detriment to the book, because so many things get detail that frankly just don't need it (Take a shot every time an erection is mentioned), as well the fact that a fair portion of the book takes tangents or has bizarre and illogical decisions being made. I once heard it described as if the whole thing was written over a weekend on a giant coke binge and I have to agree, it doesn't even feel like an editor looked at the book, because a fair portion of it can definitely be cut out. There are so many things to discuss with this book that this is not the proper place to. On a final note I'll say Steven Weber, the narrator of the audiobook did a fantastic job, probably the best performance I've heard on an audiobook, a story with this many characters, plotlines, emotions, he does a bang up job with all of them, the only let down with his performance I'd say is sadly Pennywise himself, who had somewhat of a rather generic monster voice in my opinion, but every other character he played with so much charisma and gave them all distinct voices and personalities, brilliant job. Would I recommend this? Probably, it's definitely a great book, but if you're like me and you own about 90 books that you still haven't read, perhaps go through some of those first.

Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda
Talk about a 180 on books, not only in tone but also pacing, I read through this damn thing in just 3 days, I don't think that's ever happened before! After Love, Simon made my April favourites, of course I wanted to check out the book and yes, both of which are very good. Which ones better? I'd argue they're equal. The film is certainly funnier, and I think the dramatic moments sting a little harder; but the book also better develops Simon & Blue's relationship over e-mails, as well as not forcing some 2nd act drama. The main reason why both book and film are so good however is prominent in both stories, the way it captures the feelings of being a male who is sexually attracted to other males. Moments like Simon going to a restaurant and hanging out with gay people for the first time, or when he finally gets to kiss Blue, they're all feelings that I (And I imagine most queer folk) can absolutely identify with, and they're moments the film doesn't have, absolutely making the book a worthwhile read if you saw and loved the film, just like I did.

Skulduggery Pleasant: Dark Days
The 4th book in the series and the upwards streak continues. The first of the series to continue directly from the prior book, this instalment acts more like an ovation of the characters we've met so far. Everyone's on call for this one, and each gets a moment to stand out and show why the characters are easily the strongest part of the series. The book's theme of consequences for past actions are prevalent for most of the ensemble, some of them try to face them head on at a chance for redemption, and others bury them as far as they can, only to make it worse in the long run. The main villain this time round is the centre piece of this theme, he seeks revenge on those who wronged him, and forms his own team of support villains from prior books, most of whom weren't exactly complex, but had entertaining personalities and powers to make them engaging, so having them all team up makes for the most compelling villain line-up so far in the series. On the other hand is still Valkyrie who everyone is trying to prevent from making the same mistakes they did in their youth, as signs of her going down darker and destructive paths is becoming all the more likely. My main issues with this book is that the set-ups for future instalments are not as well tied in as the prior book. China Sorrows for example, is missing from a huge chunk of the novel, and only has relevance during the first major story beat, and then for a "big secret" to be revealed, even though it has no effect on the current story. Likewise another character is introduced in the book who holds no weight to the story, only to commit an action at the very end when everything's wrapped up, just to then lead into the next book of the series. Frankly I think there was enough here that set-up future stories, mostly involving Valkyrie's powers and heritage that you really don't need to force in specific plot points that hold no merit to the story being told. But like I said, these books just keep getting better and better. The wit in the dialogue and intrigue in the magical world is consistently great between books, and the characters keep getting more developed and compelling with each instalment, combine that with being the first book in the series to have legitimately compelling villains, and I'd say you have a damn good book on your hands.

Best Things of April 2018

The further into Spring we go the less time I find myself having to enjoy escapist entertainment, either because of my Masters Degree, Quidditch Commitments or just general laziness, but hey, let's talk about what we can.

Love, Simon
Love, Simon became the film that pretty much every LGBT+ person fell in love with and I am one of those people. Not even necessarily because my own personal story is similar to Simon's in that many ways, but the way this film is able to perfectly tell it's story to make everyone empathise and understand, regardless of their sexual orientation. Considering the amount of LGBT people who worked on the film, you can tell it comes from a place of honesty and a large number of scenes stand out as being emotionally poignant. Combine that with legitimately funny writing along with talented actors who have great chemistry with each other, and you have the most heartwarming and enjoyable film of the month, and so far one of my favourites of the year.

Monster - Frozen Broadway Musical
I've always been a lover of Frozen ever since I first saw it in cinemas back in 2013 before it had any hype, and I'll still stand by it to this day as one of Disney's best films (And people need to learn the difference between overrated and over exposed). With that being said I never had that much interest in the Broadway show because just in general Broadway adaptations aren't really my thing, they're products I love translated into a different medium that I am almost never exposed. That being said Disney has released several of the new songs written for the show on YouTube and easily my favourite and obviously the new showstopper of Monster. A power ballad that analyses Elsa's inner turmoil and gives new context that the film never did. I can definitely see people comparing this to Let It Go, it's a big emotional number for Elsa that will get stuck in your ear the minute you hear it, and by god I have not stopped listening to it since.

The Box - Brooklyn Nine-Nine
After going on an insanely long hiatus (Of three months) Brooklyn Nine-Nine came back as strong as ever, that being said, the standout episode thus far is episode 14 'The Box', an episode that sees Jake & Holt spend the entire night interrogating one suspect, trying to get a confession out of him. Bottle episodes themselves are always difficult to pull off, they're the writers intentional limiting themselves by forcing character to stay in one location, yet B99 takes it a step farther and limits it to also only two of the main cast members, and somehow, they still turn out a funny, well-written, fast paced masterstroke of a bottle episode. Highlighting the amazing chemistry and dynamic between these two characters, while also giving guest star Sterling K Brown a chance to stretch his legs and show why he's such a talent, that he's able to create such a well defined character in just 20 minutes. Unfortunately, while the development between Jake & Holt's relationship is always lovely, I can't help but feel it comes with a lingering feeling that this might be our last Jake & Holt episode. Most of this season has felt like a somewhat pre-emptive goodbye, with each character progressing much more rapidly than in prior seasons. Rosa coming out, Jake & Amy getting engaged, Boyle now with a wife and kid, Amy & Holt both getting promotions. It's very much familiar of Community, another brilliant sitcom that somehow faltered in the ratings, putting it at risk of cancellation every season, and not wanting to leave things unsaid. Which sadly makes me nervous that they know something we don't, but on the brightside it means they're trying even harder to make sure the time we have left is as good as it can be.

Avengers: Infinity War
Of course this makes the list. It's the friggin Avengers. A film that's been built up for a decade (Well, 6 years, but a decade sounds neater). Though I think some of the praise for the film has been somewhat hyperbolic in terms of how ballsy it is, it's still nice to have a Marvel film that has some genuine stakes towards it, where I was legitimately fearing for people's lives. But that's not to take for granted the usual qualities you can praise for these films. Marvel films are so good at presenting action, comedy, special effects & performances to such a peak that it's easy to forget certain studios struggle to get even these right when Marvel makes it look so basic. This was never going to be an easy film to make and I can only imagine the planning that had to go into it, but boy did they do a bang up job at piecing this together. I'd recommend you go see it, but judging by the box office, you already have.

-Danny

Action Comics #1000 - Cheap Thoughts

I've thought a lot about how I want to open this piece. Talking about Superman and what he means to me, what he means to audiences, what he means to the comic industry, and what he means to society as a whole. A character that has been around for 80 years. A character that everyone knows simply from a look. A character that gets adapted a thousand times over, yet somehow was perfected from issue 1. Superman isn't a character that had to grow into his ideals, he's been them from his first ever story. Yet here we are, a thousand issues later, and what we get is half a dozen of DC's best writers telling the most basic of stories you could tell with the man..and somehow making each one a perfect representation of why Superman will always be important and iconic.

This comic isn't so much about what Superman is, but what he means to people, and what they mean to him. Several of the stories are just following ordinary citizens, with them discussing how their interactions with him, whether he saved their lives, helped redeem villains, or even inspired them to save someone else. Likewise whenever the story focuses on the Man of Steel, it's discussing how grateful he is to have had parents like Jonathan & Martha Kent, or how meeting just one good person can put him in a good mood for the whole day. My favourite story of the bunch was 'The Car' written by Geoff Johns, Richard Donner, Oliver Coipel with art by Alejandro Sanchez. Telling the story of the car owner that Superman smashed all the way back on the cover of Action Comics #1, which is not only a brilliant idea for a story, with some beautiful artwork and visual storytelling (The literal bird & plane panels were especially great). But the main reason is that it shows Superman has been perfect from issue 1, everything about how he's represented works in context of both then and now, he seems a lowly thug, stops him from committing crime, and then actually puts in the effort to learn about him, see what made him the way he is, and tries to help him. He doesn't turn him into the police or violently attack him, he talks to him, gives him advice and sometimes, that's all you need, someone to believe in you, and when that person is Superman, that can do wonders.

I don't even know what else to say about this, almost every story is perfect in someway, it's just telling all the reasons why Superman is as important as he is, every line of dialogue, every story just had me going "Yeah, I agree". The only story that I can say didn't do anything for me was of course the last one, because it's not a celebration of Superman, it's a prologue for Brian Michael Bendis' new run, which don't get me wrong, I'm excited for (Though it means losing Peter J Tomasi so that saddens me), and of course they were going to advertise it in the biggest Superman book of the year, but I just wish this book can have been just celebrating Superman. The story itself wasn't bad, just not what fitted this type of book.

In summary: Action Comics #1000 is just excellent, really really really excellent. If you love Superman, you'll love this book. It's as simple as that.

-Danny

Legends of Tomorrow 'The Good, the Bad, and the Cuddly' - Finale Review

Because what other way could Legends of Tomorrow end their season? By having a giant stuffed teddy bear created by combining 6 ancient totems together in order to fight an immortal time demon...

This show is the absolute best and I will hear no words against it. I've made my feelings on why pretty clear over the course of this season, Legends is not afraid to go absolutely bonkers and just have as much fun as possible, it's everything you could want in a comic book adventure series about a bunch of superheroes travelling through time. It's definitely the most fun out of all the superhero shows out there, but on top of that, it matches the scale needed to make it work, this finale felt like the most epic episode they could have had, with returning characters from the whole season, a big brawl between sides, and ending it in a giant CGI fight. Even though the humour and silliness of the whole show is certainly it's main appeal, it never skimps out on the dramatic moments as well, however, I would argue that they were the weaker parts of this particular finale. Firstly with the killing of Rip Hunter, a main character, the one who brought the Legends together in the first place, killing him off at the very beginning of the episode with no build up, a weak execution (Why didn't Mallus just fly away?) and after struggling to give him a purpose this whole season, it felt like a cheap way to get rid of a character they didn't know what to do with. Then in the end with Amaya finally leaving, again, something we all knew was going to happen eventually and was referenced in several episodes this season, somehow feels rushed from how little it tied in with this specific story.

I remember when the first season came out my main issue with it was the show's lack of identity, then came along the second season where they fixed that by deciding "hey, we should be the wacky fun show!" and this season hasn't really done much to change that, but if it ain't broke don't fix it. It's hard to say this was my favourite DC show of the year seeing as the rest of the shows haven't finished yet, but frankly I can't think of another show that can match it. Without a doubt this has been the most fun with the most consistent quality out of all the shows. An ensemble series where the cast have the best chemistry out of all the shows, with solid character development, creative plots, decent effects, but like I've already said, it's fun, it's so much fun, it's so silly, it is so absolutely it's own thing and I love and respect that. Oh, also the great LGBT+ representation that most of television already struggles with, let alone superhero shows and this series makes it look easy, always a bonus.

Now as for best & worst episodes of the season...

The worst episode would have to be Amazing Grace for simply lacking any kind of stakes or drama, and when your plot involves "Elvis accidentally summoning ghosts" and it's somehow boring then you know you've messed up somewhere.

The best episode however I would say Welcome to the Jungle for being the episode that in my opinion perfectly balanced good drama & character development with the goofy sci-fi nature we expect from the series. Mick's relationship with his father got explored and it's something that has never really been addressed, and we also got an appearance from Gorilla Grodd...which is always awesome.

I give the season 3 finale of Legends of Tomorrow an 8/10.

I give the season as a whole...also an 8/10.

-Danny

DC TV Weekly #42

Legends of Tomorrow 'Guest Starring John Noble' Review
Well that episode was all over the place...but kinda in a good way. I'm starting to understand why they gave it such a meta title because really there's no one plot to focus on, if anything this feels like three episodes all shoved together, but all of them are equally good. We've got Grodd, an evil psychic gorilla travel back in time to kill a young Barack Obama, and honestly that one sentence is the most Legends of Tomorrow thing that can be said, it's insane, it's goofy and it's fun as all hell. Then we have Amaya going back to save her village, leading to some good character development for her and Nata, also makes me think this might be Amaya's last season. Then finally we have Damien Darhk working with the Legends to prevent Mallus from escaping, giving us a lot of plot development. Three good plots achieving three different things, unfortunately each one is far too short to leave the impact it should do. The Obama stuff is fun but far too short, Damien's sudden but inevitable betrayal happens too fast, and Amaya's stuff...actually turned out pretty well, but to be fair they've been building it up all season. Some other things worth pointing out: I don't know why but I find it hilarious that Mick is a fan of Lord of the Rings, the cgi and fight during the Esi/Grodd throwdown was awful, yet again Wally is still getting underutilised because really the dude could solve all these problems in a literal millisecond. 7/10.

Black Lightning 'Black Jesus: The Book of Crucifixion' Review
Guys, seriously, you're really pushing it with the whole no one knows Jefferson is Black Lightning thing. His disguise is a terrible disguise that we only accept because superhero logic, when you draw attention to it, it makes it worse. At least this episode created someone of a loophole for them, people seeing Black Lightning when Jefferson is clearly in a different location so they can somewhat get away with it. But when your show specifically points out all the very obvious evidence to suggest Jefferson is Black Lightning, it means you're just not trying hard enough to hide it. Some positives on the other hand, it's nice seeing Henderson get some more development outside of just being the cop friend of Black Lightning. Well, technically it is still around him being a cop, but actually developing him into doing some actual police work and coming into his own obstacles. Also the Gambi/Jefferson relationship seems to have finally been repaired. And apparently Jefferson's Vice-Principal is an important character, even though she's been completely irrelevant for the entirety of the season until now. Meanwhile Tobias is nowhere to be seen and Lala is still completely separate from everyone else without his resurrection being close to explained. There are only two episodes left of the season and I am starting to doubt if everything will actually get resolved by the end of it, especially when very little of this episode seemed to have consequence, except that Henderson is now Deputy Chief (Why do we care?) and the Gambi relationship is restored, even if it had very little to do with this episode. 5/10.

Arrow 'Brothers In Arms' Review
How could an episode with so much emotional weight feel so boring? Yes, Arrow has had emotionally gripping storytelling wrapped in formulaic plots before, so why didn't it work this time? The debate between Oliver and Diggle has been building up for a while now, hell, you could argue all season, and it finally reached breaking point here, and the scene itself was really damn good. Both sides had solid arguments, the actors were giving 100%, even the way it was shot gave it peak tension and drama, but my god, I just didn't care at all. Perhaps it's because the rest of the episode building up to it was generic, maybe it's because I'm sick of all the arguments over "Oliver doesn't trust people" which has been done dozens of times, maybe it's because this season's main plot isn't even that interesting, or maybe it's a mixture of all three and more. Even if the one scene was really good, it's hard to care all too much when everything around it is just simply dull, even Diggle leaving the team I seriously doubt will last long. 5/10.