'Legends of Tomorrow' Season 3, Episode 14: 'Amazing Grace'

This episode has the team travel to 1950's Memphis in order to ensure that the career of Elvis Presley goes off without a hitch.

The anachronism this time around isn't an intentional machination, just some dumb luck, as Elvis buys a guitar enchanted with the mysterious sixth totem.  At first, I was unsure about the idea of Elvis' musical abilities being due to supernatural effects, but the episode does allow him to show off his own chops by episode's end.  Even when the presence is there, the episode undermines any potential insult by playing it up as a deep and profound connection with Elvis' long lost twin brother.  I'm not sure if Elvis actually had a twin, but it came off as a random nod to "The Identical" to me.

Speaking of, while Elvis doesn't fight any mummies, ghosts are the villain du jour.  Both are undead, so it's something, right?

Sadly, while the ghosts certainly look creepy (the effects crew did a stellar job on that front) they don't really have any sort of menace.  They lurk, but that's about it.  The episode does say that the town eventually goes insane as a result of their presence, but they seem pretty chill all things considered.

It is a bit odd seeing Ray play the skeptic, albeit briefly.  I get it.  He's a scientist, so on paper he should be dismissive of the paranormal.  On the other hand, he's the Atom and this is the Arrowverse.  The episode doesn't dwell on it too much and it seems like it was more of a means to a joke than an actual plot quirk, but it still felt a little odd to me.

On other fronts, Wally is showing himself to be a great addition to the team.  Not only does his personality bounce well off of others, but the episode does a good job of showcasing his storybreaker power and also mining the imbalance for laughs.  More than once, the team decides to embark on some fetch quest, only to have Wally zip over and bring it right back in a matter of seconds.  It was an interesting subversion of usual Legends endeavors.

Is it odd that one of my favorite parts of the episode is Mick saying goodbye to his rat.  The funeral was played for laughs, but at the same time, Ray did a great job of delivering a sincere eulogy that also acknowledged the other losses that the team has faced this year.  It wasn't the most active role for Mick, but what it lacked in time, it made up for in emotional weight.

Nate and Amaya's relationship also adds a bit of feel to the episode, though maybe not as much as the writers would have hoped.  The fact that the two were able to dance together and kiss in 1950's Memphis without raising any eyebrows was pretty impressive, though.  I have to give them that.

All in all, this episode was average at best.  It had some good parts, to be sure, but it didn't have the energy or charm of some of the other episodes.  The plot did move forward a little, but not as much as it could have.  Hopefully, the next episode is able to pick up the slack.  The number of remaining episodes continue to dwindle as we enter the final four.

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'The Punisher' Episode 7: 'Crosshairs

With Q4 just a stone's throw away, a long list of things left on this year's to do list, and a possible recession on the horizon; it's time to kick things into high gear.  With that, let's dive back into "The Punisher".  It's been more than a while since I last talked about this series.  As a result, some details are rather hazy for me.

I was still able to mostly follow what was happening, but I did need to go back and refresh my own memory.  I knew that Lewis killed a person (that much is made obvious by the opening scenes where he's washing blood off his hands) but the who and the why initially escaped me. I also glossed over who Morty was and how he was connected.  The episode outright states that he knows who "Agent Orange" is and thus gives us all the motivation we need for Frank to bust into his house and try to glean it from him.

There is a bit of a twist, this time around, though.  Where Frank would otherwise just kill people who got in his way, he's less inclined to do the same to soldiers who are just doing their jobs.

When one soldier accosts him as he's leaving the premises, Frank makes a concerted effort to convince the guy to just leave.  It doesn't work and Frank is forced to wound him.  While Frank does lament the situation, he ends the conversation by saying that he's just going to kill everyone next time.  It kind of seems like he missed the point of the whole thing, but at least it was nice to try and give Frank some more nuance and complexity to his approach.

Sadly, the same can't be said for the show's villains.  It turns out that Russo is largely motivated by money and Rawlins aka Agent Orange is after Frank because....Frank emasculated him?   Granted, it's just a theory thrown out by Russo during a conversation, but there's no effort to refute it or provide a more solid reasoning.  It just seems so flimsy.

Conversely, Lewis is a much more compelling character.  He hasn't fallen to "villain" yet, though we do see him building a bomb for some as of yet undetermined purpose, but he has more depth and pathos than either of the show's two "big bads" so far.  He's still off doing his own thing, but I do hope that his character arc crosses paths with the main one at some point.  While his story has still been compelling in its own right, it seems like a waste to just have it off completely independent of the show's main narrative.

On a similar note, Sam and Madani continue to operate on the sidelines.  They are given a small quest, of sorts, as Madani suspects that her office is bugged.  It is.   The plus side is that they know about it, the down side is that they're unsure of what to do now. 

Oddly enough, the idea of using this to their advantage never comes up.  You'd think they'd use this to throw the people listening off track.  Give them false info or make it sound like you know less than you actually do.  If nothing else, start trolling them.  Have debates about whether or not Iron Man is naked under the armor or play some country music.  There are certainly options.

Not surprisingly, this episode suffered from schedule slip.  As a result, it was hard to get too invested in what's happening.  The details of the conspiracy are foggy so I'm just kind of going along just because.  Thankfully, Lewis' arc is present to give the show a bit more umph.  We'll see how things progress from here, as we move closer to the first season's end.

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