Spoilers might fly in, run in or… use a bow as a club.
Supergirl gives us a very Hank Henshaw/J’onn J’onzz centered episode in which we finally meet the killers of Mars’ Green Martians – the White Martians. We also get introduced to Senator Miranda Crane (Tawny Cypress). Well, by the time she meets Supergirl and the DEO, turns out she’s not feeling much like herself. Hank freezes when he sees a White Martian, and we soon learn his very dark history. He lost his wife, daughters and literally his entire world to them. There’s strong X-Men type anti-alien resentment in National City and the Senator is stirring it up further. It doesn’t make things better when she’s saved by Supergirl, taken under the DEO’s protection and found out as a White Martian.
The subplot is a romance in the making. Cat’s estranged son Adam shows up, all due to a letter from his mom that was neither written nor send by Cat Grant. This one is one by the numbers, although we do see Cat Grant’s emotional muscles get a workout.
The Flash might have brought out Eobard Thawne as the Reverse-Flash, but the whole time alteration is really making me dizzy. Technically speaking, if Eobard Thawne never existed, which was the premise behind his disappearance, we should get the original Harrison Wells back on Earth-1. Harrison Wells explains some of it, but definitely time has taken a dramatic license here. Anyhow, the Reverse-Flash is trying to get back to his time and for some reason the Flash interfering with that escape actually makes things worse. Time alteration seems to hit Cisco first. He’s becoming more powerful with his vibes thanks to a couple of shades engineered by Harry. How exactly Harry deduces that Cisco’s lack of solidification is due to the Reverse-Flash not going back to the future is a biiiiig streeeetch, but he’s right anyways.
A couple of extra plots run in parallel to this storyline. First, Francine is sick and about to die. Curiously enough, Iris is willing to forgive and make peace but not Wally West. I would have expected that to be the other way around. The other one is Patty finally figuring out that Barry is The Flash, trying to get him to admit it, and finally calling with a fake emergency hold up to have the Flash show up.
Meanwhile, Arrow actually changed the flashback scenes just so we can discover more about the Diggle brothers. John and Andy are the centerpiece of this plot. Andy has been pretty much behaving like a lost cause, but when some army militia shows up looking to confront Argus show up, it’s time for Andy to put up or shut up. It was a good episode for John Diggle as well.
The other plot is Felicity, as she appears in a wheelchair due to her an apparently permanent spine injury. She’s not alone, she starts to hallucinate talking to her other self from her hacker days (which means a goth phase apparently). She also gets a codename as Overwatch. Next time, Ollie, let her pick her own codename? Thanks. I get it that it’s for the Oracle quip which I will talk about below, but still I think she would’ve preferred to pick her own hero name.
Highs/Lows:
- David Harewood gets major props for Supergirl’s J’onn J’onzz reveal. There’s a tender moment where he admits he used to have two daughters. I love that only Kara hugs him and he has to tell her to stop.
- I get that the whole anti-alien is an allegory for racism, something the X-Men have been doing for years. Still, Miranda Crane’s conversion to Supergirl fan is a little too quick and of course still biased.
- The Flash still takes the crown as the show to watch on TV. Still, this one had a few plotholes that need filling.
- Patty needed to have been investigating the Flash from a long time ago up until now to make this a little more effective. Still, a relationship ruined because of one unrevealed truth. As a police officer, Patty is always going to be in danger, Barry.
- I did like that Arrow conceded the flashback for something else than the freaking island again. They did try to tie it together as well.
- Amanda Waller dies? Not sure how I feel about that. She was a superb antagonist.
- Felicity did get quite a lot more to do in this episode, but I really hope they’re a little sensible about how they use the character now that she’s in a wheelchair.
- “In was gonna go with Oracle but it’s taken,” says Ollie. I so want a crossover with Barbara Gordon but I guess that rises the Bat question, doesn’t it?
That will do for now.
Never Think Impossible 