Superhero Weekly: Black Jesus, Both Sides Now and True Colors

I must say, The Flash really tried this week. There were several good things, but the episode as a whole is a bit all over the place. Consistently good, Black Lightning once more takes the lead as the character of Tobias Whale becomes more interesting and Anissa Pierce keeps stealing the spotlight. Supergirl delves deeper into the Kryptonian Worldkillers as Purity is revealed, but it’s Alex Danvers that brings about the best moments in this week’s episode. So who takes the lead this time?

It’s Black Lightning again as we go deep into the superhero myth with Black Jesus.

• Anissa Pierce keeps stealing the spotlight. Yes, Jefferson is interesting. Lynn is a driving force. Henderson is shady, I still say he’s definitely dirty. Gambi is hiding information from Jefferson. With all this threads going on, who’s the player of the week in this show of the week?
• It’s Tobias Whale of course! Well, not just him but the world around him. We get more on Lady Eve as she seems to be dissecting a living person. We meet Tobias’ sister Tori who wants to turn the world against Lightning. And we see Tobias getting close with Khalil and offering to show him how to kill his pain.
• But Anissa is still shining as well. As she gets the drop of two drug dealers, we also get a real world call as the two thugs end badly hurt and Anissa ends up calling for an ambulance.
• Anissa also gets extra points as she represents the superhero side versus law enforcement at the table where Inspector Henderson and his wife are all about painting Black Lightning as a vigilante and nothing more.
• We also get Gambi playing a curator with the truth as he makes sure that Jefferson does not see the footage of Anissa going X-Woman as she protects Grace. Seems Gambi not only feels that Black Lightning is necessary, he also wants Black Lightning back. So much so, that he’ll lie and hide stuff from Jefferson to make sure nothing deters him from the superhero life.

Supergirl scores the second place in today’s week with the excellent Both Sides Now.

• The mythos of the Kryptonian Worldkillers becomes more intriguing as each shows to have an oblivious, almost innocent, human side component. Purity / Julia is played by Krys Marshall. She has a Hannibal Lecter moment as she gets under Alex Danver’s skin.
• Which brings us to Chyler Leigh’s brilliant portrayal of her character Alex Danvers as she second guesses her decisions. Besides the scene in which she and Purity trade barbs and Alex ends up shaken to her core, there’s one short scene that spoke volumes. Alex walking nervously, obviously upset, getting a much needed hug from Wynn.
• I know it’s supposed to be a tender moment, but what I thought really poignant was just Alex walking nervously without a word and trembling as she was simply far more vulnerable than we’ve ever seen her. Just for that scene, Supergirl could’ve been at the very top of this list this week, except…
• Except it’s a bit off. The entire setup of Purity/Julia going against Kara and Alex is supposed to be this juxtaposition scenario. It feels clunky because Alex is not really a cynical character nor has she acted as one in the previous episodes. I know the reason is her recent breakup with Maggie, but the only reason I know that is because of all the exposition they had to add surrounding the scene. Yes, I did like the conversation but the over-the-top transformation of Alex as tough-as-nails interrogator is a huge stretch.
• Kudos once again to Katie McGrath’s amazing Lena Luthor but unfortunately most of her scenes were with my least favourite new character. I’m talking about mediocre kid actor Ruby (Emma Tremblay). I never believe her acting since she appeared. She’s an amateur act that seems to play being a kid. Every scene with her is a bit of a cringe fest as it feels like she’s a tween playing an eight year old.
• Going back to Lena, has she really figured out what’s wrong with Samantha Arias? It would be really interesting to see Kara defending Samantha while Lena tries to prove she knows she’s Reign but I am not that lucky. I feel we’re being setup for a letdown here, but I will be glad to be proven wrong. Please let me be wrong.
• The other suckfest is Mon-El (Chris Wood). He’s supposed to be a different character now, grown up and matured. Unfortunately this transition is a bit forced. To the point that when someone praises him on some accomplishment I can’t help but roll my eyes a bit. Make him win some point in present time and not in something he did off camera somewhere in the future.
• That being said, there was a twist this week with the possibility that Imra and Brainiac actually planned this supposedly accidental trip back to the past. This cliffhanger of a twist seems to be intentional for a hiatus period.

The Flash really went for broke this week with True Colors, but still ends up last.

• I did like Barry Allen figuring out how to break from a meta prison using science. That was cool and unexpected. The whole escape from prison had a Suicide Squad vibe but seemed to be robbed of a satisfying finale in the end.
• Okey I gotta say it. We got a killer Killer Frost scene as Caitlin Snow goes to pep talk Ralph and literally cuts herself with glass to bring her alter ego out. That being said I noticed they went with some scenes of Killer Frost without using contacts. This kinda mitigates her usual alien look, and I wonder if it was done to make her more relatable. I rather prefer the more icy look.
• Are we putting seeds of discord in the perfect couple? Marlize Devoe seems to finally showing some cracks in the armor at her husband’s murder of Warden Wolff.
• And Barry is out! Well, I guess that’s that. And it was rather anti-climatic, making me think this was never long term.
• Devoe is now in the persona/body of Becky Sharpe aka Hazard (Sugar Lyn Beard). This weakens the character as we no longer have a clear image that can mature into the villainous face since it switches to a different one. That just dilutes the identity and never cements his presence which was the same issue with Savitar last season. I feel like you have to make the villain tangible enough for the public to make a solid association.

That will do for now.