Spoilers will get darker since it’s a new season.
Every series has to evolve past its first year. However, the darker they get the more you yearn for some lightness. This is one of the reasons I feel I had to get Arrow out of this mix. It doesn’t feel like I was having fun watching it anymore. Both Supergirl and The Flash go for a breather this week.
Highs, Lows and Father Figures:
- Maggie and Alex’s wedding preparations continue. Here’s where that spoiler warning at the top of the post becomes important. If you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read any further.
- Maggie’s rocky relationship with her father is explored. It is interesting to see that her dad is not a caricature. He’s survived his own trials as a latino gaining respect from other people as a Sheriff.
- It did seem that as a person who had to overcome bigotry against himself, he’d have some empathy for Maggie. He kind of does, but then it backfires as he believes Maggie could have decided not to be a lesbian to avoid the strife, which is backwards thinking. It’s actually grown up for a show about superheroes and aliens to give us an imperfect parent that will not be understanding and will not stick around. Less ideal but more realistic.
- Alex wanting kids and Maggie not being on board is the beginning of the end. As revealed in Entertainment Weekly, Floriana Lima is pursuing other projects and is exiting the show.
- This doesn’t negate the exercise of showing a lesbian relationship in a more realistic light in a show that is not based on reality. The show has been kinder to them than other shows. It has lasted far beyond a single season, and it has matured and grounded Alex and Maggie’s characters. I hope for a heartfelt goodbye, because they deserve it.
- The mission to Mars seemed to be the lighter side of this week’s episode, but the overtones of surviving prosecution really went deeper than I expected.
- J’onn’s father, M’yrnn J’onzz was played by Carl Lumbly. His performance as a war survivor who has endured torture really shone on screen.
- When his father can’t recognize him, J’onn has to hear that his father would not believe his son survived the war by escaping Mars. That was heart wrenching.
- Kara takes a backseat (don’t worry she gets to drive later) in this story to J’onn and M’yrnn’s getting acquainted again. Just for their performance as father and son war survivors, it was worth going back to Mars.
- The battle for the staff is an afterthought, although I totally see a super-villain taking that staff later in the season to defeat Kara.
Meanwhile, back at STAR Labs…
Highs, Lows and Hazard:
- Harry Wells comes back from Earth Two with a breakup cube for Wally. That was really harsh. I guess they couldn’t get Jesse Quick (Violett Beane) for this episode.
- This episode was all about bad luck and comical situations in which the characters overact and go over the top. We get Becky Sharpe aka Hazard (Sugar Lyn Beard) doing an almost endearing/annoying version of a luck-based meta causing havoc all over town.
- I didn’t like the whole Iris overreaction thing. I know it’s played for laughs when she just decides to force Barry and herself to get married regardless of the bad luck juju. It’s just that woman-must-get-married stereotype that I can’t quite stand.
- I did like having Tom Cavanagh back in the show as the grumpy Harry Wells reconnects – eventually – with Cisco. Plus he does come up with the last minute Hail Mary solution to nab Hazard as the odds go against the entire team Flash in the last minute.
- No Caitlin Snow moments or Killer Frost peeks. That’s a low in case you didn’t know.
- It’s sad to see Wally West go. Actor Keiynan Lonsdale did good work in becoming Kid Flash, but I am kind of frustrated that he didn’t even get half an arc of a story. That being said, it has grown stagnant. Kid Flash only got to save the day once in a blue moon and became the sidekick in distress a little too many times. He might be back for a spell now and then.
- So now the team knows more about what we know already. Twelve new metas created by Barry’s Speed Force re-entry. Harry Wells does good in realizing the connections. I kinda see where The Thinker (the guy in the Tron-like chair) and Harry Wells might be engaging in a chess game soon. I just don’t see the motivation of this new nemesis against Barry.
Yes, I said I was doing this biweekly and suddenly I’m back on the weekly train. Hope that’s not a bother. Just keeping myself writing. Only way to be a writer, I hear.
That will do for now.
Never Think Impossible 