Spoilers might fly, run and hit their mark.
You’d think Supergirl would have another surprise for us, and in a way they did. They’ve set up the stage so far, but this week it was all about developing a few of their potential storylines. For Survivors, we got Mon-El slowly adjusting to being in Earth with Kara adjusting to have to share her world with Mon-El. For J’onn it’s even more complicated as he learns about M’gann and the extraterrestrial fight club. The underground fights were not great, but still ok. I also liked Alex having her own storyline along detective Maggie Sawyer.
Mon-El is slowly being developing a persona. I liked that we were given easy signs of him being manipulative (trying to convince Winn to let him go out), chauvinistic (he called Kara’s mom “babe” but not really understanding the word) and violent (he gets into a fight, but he really doesn’t mean to) and rather that escalate that into a full blown fight, he’s understood. Perhaps there is a fight between him and Kara in the future, but I’d rather they not. He should have an edge to him anyway, not everyone in the show should be a boy scout.
The Flash turned their focus on developing Tom Felton’s Julian Albert a little deeper. That was interesting. I know so far we’re supposed to write him off as a snob, but I actually like him. A different perspective than Barry, a more aggressive approach and a lot of scientific talent. To reuse my own expression, not everyone in this show should be a boy scout either.
Then there was H.R. Wells. He’s a novelist. Sorry, I did say spoilers! Ok he pretends to come up with ideas, but he’s mostly bluffing. Mostly. A few ideas do come up. However, he’s not consistently reliable to come up with them. Sorry, but the team was looking for a mentor. I’d say scrap him and keep looking.
Caitlin Snow was the icing on the… ice. Her relationship with her mother, Carla Tannhauser (Susan Walters), another of those geniuses that seemed to live in the mad scientist hub that is Centra City, was a cold and frozen breath of fresh polar air. Caitlin is close to going full Killer Frost, but should she really stop? I think finally Caitlin has an interesting storyline, and powers to follow. I don’t fully trust the 180 degrees change of heart from her mother, but I’m willing to give her a chance.
And finally, I will admit that I’ve been giving Arrow a hard time. I’m not fully onboard with the new recruits, I think Ragman could literally take them all out and the new dynamic is either missing something or is too crowded. However, this week I saw a commendable attempt at trying to focus and strengthen the shaky storyline into something watchable.
Rene Rodriguez aka Wild Dog had to endure a beating from Tobias Church. That wasn’t really what I wanted to see. However, the aftermath actually included what Ollie called a “debriefing” but felt more like therapy from John Diggle. Seeing John mentoring again, and specially Rene who really needs it, was something that the show called for. That is a good use for John, who has more experience than anybody on the team but has a family to take care of now. Still, it was good to see him don the Spartan helmet once more.
The Human Target makes an appearance, and we’re kept in the dark while he takes over as Mayor Ollie and does quite well. That also includes getting shot, reappearing at the lair (what’s the name of the new base?) and finally revealing he has been here all along. The kicker is that we finally tied one thing with the past flashbacks and it turns out he’s saved Oliver before.
The shocker this episode was that Tobias Church was taken out while being driven to prison. Prometheus knows Oliver’s identity. Conveniently, it appears that Tobias didn’t tell anybody else. The problem is that Prometheus basically looks like a clone of Green Arrow and Ragman. Who/what he is exactly, we’ve yet to find out. It was a decent episode overall.
Highs/Lows/Monsters:
- M’gann/Miss Martian is a complex character with a secret. White Martians and Green Martians should also solve their problems. You can’t tackle racism with an allegory with Kryptonians and Daxamites and ignore it with Martian races. The show has remained consistent since the second season started, so I hope this won’t be overlooked.
- Sawyer and Danvers need to be a cop buddy spinoff. Actually, you kinda want to ship them because they’re adorable. Either way, Alex has her own storyline developing and she’s not just Kara’s sister anymore. Even if they’re not an item, I still want them to remain friends.
- Mon-El should not be another happy-go lucky character. Let’s hope he’s got a different personality. Bland is not an option in a growing cast.
- So the newest incarnation of Harrison Wells is the novelist HR Wells. Here’s my problem, I don’t think just having ideas is useful enough. The team needed a proven, well-read, experienced scientist. HR is not it. Hopefully they develop some sort of angle where he becomes more interesting. For now, he’s kind that person in your office that talks in buzzwords that he doesn’t understand.
- Julian Albert finally opens up. The thing is, I never considered him just a snob. He seems to be genuinely talented and not stupid. I am glad that he’s finally bonding with Barry.
- Caitlin Snow finally gets her own storyline and we meet Carla Tannhauser (Susan Waters), not-so-extraordinaire mother. Surprisingly, she doesn’t have an agenda. Or perhaps she does and she’s playing it cool for now, knowing Caitlin will need her eventually. Perhaps she’s lying to her when she says that using her powers is a bad thing. Is the team going to meet Killer Frost?
- John Diggle should be a mentor for the entire group, not just Rene. He’d whip them into shape.
- The Human Target was a cool concept and he also appeared in the Bratva flashback. However, the actor that played him was kind of bland.
- Tobias Church, we hardly knew ye. So, who’s Prometheus? So far, not really a promising villain. We’ll have to see. The Arrow finally has an episode that I felt inclined to watch from beginning to end in a long time.
That will do for now.
Never Think Impossible 