'Legends of Tomorrow': Crisis on Infinite Earths Hour Five

 

Well, it took some time, but I did finally get "caught up" with the other Arrowverse shows and was able to finally dive into the "Crisis".  Thus, I can dive back into this show after a lengthy hiatus.

Much like "Crisis on Earth X", this episode doesn't really showcase much of the Legends.  Instead, the focus is on establishing the new status quo and giving the heroes their final confrontation with the Anti-Monitor.  It is a better final showdown than the one that came before it, but it is a little tacked on in some respects.

The differences are intriguing, but I don't know if the shows are going to do anything with it.  Even though Barry forms a superhero team, I know that they never reunite.  It will be interesting to see how things move forward for both Supergirl and Black Lightning, as they have the biggest shakeups to their home turf. A part of me thinks that their arcs are going to resume, but at the same time, I don't see how they can do that.

Still, the spirit of the show is very present, as this is definitely the lightest and silliest of the crossover episodes.  The confrontation with the giant Beebo was actually a highlight of the episode.  It was a nice breather after seeing the multiverse fall, and having team Arrow be there to remark on how freaking weird it is definitely added something, though even Barry and Diggle (who are at least a little more acclimated to weird occurrences) are still thrown by the bizarre nature of what's actually happening.  

Unlike before, the absence of the team goes beyond structure and becomes a factor in universe.  For reasons I don't know, Sara promised that the team wouldn't partake in anymore "crossovers".  Them rejecting the call made sense before as they were "out of character" at the time, but shrugging and saying no when existence itself is in danger seems like a weird move.  You have to wonder if there's going to be any sort of aftermath on that element.

Sara does reflect on how without Oliver around anymore, she doesn't really have any ties to her old life anymore.  She hadn't really popped back all that much anyway and she says that the Legends are her family now.  Couple this with the fact that this was the last of the Arrowverse crossover events, we might not see Sara interacting with any of the present day characters anymore.  I could be wrong, but we'll have to see.  

It'll be good to dive back into this.  Now I can move into the fifth season proper.

'Attack on Titan' Season 3, Episode 11: 'Bystander'

 

After some sidetracks, this episode brings the focus back to the scout regiment.  It turns out that they've been running experiments that have yielded positive results.  Eren is getting a better handle on his titan abilities.  Said abilities have allowed the city to bolster its defenses so that they can kill titans without having to endanger human troops. 

This brings the fact that titans are transformed humans into focus as Eren starts to wonder just who they're fighting and why they're doing what they're doing.  The discussion triggers a flashback of sorts for Eren, who suddenly remembers a man who may or may not have known his father.  As it turns out, that man is Eren's former drill sergeant, Keith Shadis.

It's a bit of a contrived coincidence, then again, it is a fairly small-town like setting, so I suppose it's not outside the realm of possibility.  It still seems rushed and forced, though there are some positive aspects to the development.

A lot of the episode is a flashback, as Shadis tells Eren how he came to know Eren's father and the impact that the association had.  

We see that Shadis first came across Eren's father, named Grisha, after finding him outside the walls.   Grisha had no real memory of who he was, but he did know that he was a doctor and offered to work in that capacity.  I'm guessing that memory loss is a result of the Reiss', but we'll see if they elaborate on that at all later.

It turns out that Grisha is a very skilled doctor and he becomes something of a town hero.  In the wake of this, Shadis becomes convinced that he too is special.  He is soon disavowed of this notion and takes the opposite mindset, that he is nothing but a bystander (title drop!)

This episode had some good character elements.  It was kind of a surprise to see such a minor character make a return and we are getting new information about Eren's father.  Still, this episode didn't move things all that much and I was a little thrown when the credits just started rolling when they did.  I wouldn't be surprised if the information shown here comes back in bigger ways later on down the line, but I don't know if this will go down as one of the season's more memorable episodes.  

'Daredevil' Season 3, Episode 1: 'Resurrection'

 

Time to dive back into the MCU and continue the process of getting caught up.  It's somewhat fitting, what with "Born Again" currently in production and the Netflix shows officially being declared canon.  That fell a little flat for me as I always saw these shows as canon.  That was the whole point, but regardless, here we are.

This picks up right where "The Defenders" left off.  We see how Matt managed to "escape" the building collapse and how he came to be taken in by the orphanage where he grew up.

Just as Matt's last showdown with the Hand ended up breaking Matt's spirit, so too does this one.  Not surprisingly, his body is in bad shape as well, and the explosion has even thrown his powers out of whack.  He reveals that he's deaf in one ear and he later reveals that he can't taste or smell either.  As a result, he is actually blind now.  

Couple this with the loss of Elektra...again, and Matt has basically thrown in the towel.  Even his faith is broken.  

Luckily he has a sassy nun who takes him under her wing.  Not gonna lie, Sister Maggie was the show stealer this episode.  Matt's no slouch when it comes to snark, but she really does stand as one of the more memorable elements of the episode.

While you know that Matt will eventually get his groove back, it is still satisfying to see the process start.  His senses start to come back and he starts to train to fight again.  It's a slow process and it's clear that the work isn't done, but it is still satisfying to see the change in direction.  A lot of that is somewhat subverted by the episode's closing scenes, but like I said, he's not fully back yet.  

The episode only touches on Karen and Foggy.  The prior has been doing her best to keep Matt's apartment and financial affairs in order.  Paying twice the bills has naturally taken its toll and this is what prompts her to call Foggy for help.  

Financial overextension pops up again with a subplot regarding a new character, Agent Rahul Nadeem.  We learn that he lives a well off life: nice house, big yard and all that.  He's even been covering the costs for his sister in law's cancer treatments.  Alas, it's been taking its own toll.  His credit cards are maxed out and his wife is convinced that she'll have to take on another job if they're going to dig themselves out of this hole.  

For his part, Nadeem does go to his boss and ask for an early performance review.  It turns out that his have been perpetually delayed for years due to his financial situation.  Supposedly, a promotion would make him vulnerable to "recruiters" and this is why they won't do it.  If these recruiters target people in dire financial straits, wouldn't giving him a raise make him less vulnerable?  

The whole thing does seem a little "Breaking Bad"esque.  It becomes even more apparent when Nadeem is assigned to question Fisk.  Again, you think he's vulnerable to being compromised or manipulated and then send him to go talk to the Kingpin?  Consistency, people.

As it happens, Fisk is actually willing to make a deal.  After hearing that Vanessa could be charged as an accessory, he is willing to make sacrifices to ensure that she doesn't suffer for his wrong doings.  

All in all, this was a solid opening to the season.  It gave Matt a clear arc both in terms of this episode as well as the season as a whole.  It also planted other seeds for plotlines to come.  It was well paced and was able to balance the darker elements with just enough humor to keep from negating the weight of what was happening.  

'Attack on Titan' Season 3, Episode 10: 'Friends'

 

This episode picks up where the last one left off, with Levi finding Kenny near death.  We do see a snippet of the prior being alerted to the latter being found, which helped mitigate one of my quibbles with the scene in the last episode.

With Kenny on the verge of death, it should come as no surprise that this is largely a flashback episode that tells us his story.  It's a little weird that he gets the most development just as he's dying, but it does still work out pretty well.

We come to see how he came to become in league with the Reiss family and what his reasons for doing so were.  We also see how he came to take Levi, who is actually his nephew, under his wing. Some of this was hinted at here and there, but we get a much fuller picture here than we had ever gotten before.

While Kenny takes center stage, the real show stealer is Uri Reiss, Rod's younger brother.  He is one of the wiser characters we've seen in the show.  He also has a pretty eerie introduction as he is able to go into a sort of quasi-titan form that gives him the monstrous power, but also allows him to maintain full control of his actions.  The style they use for his eyes really helps sell the weird effect.

Despite his creepy appearance, Uri is quite compassionate, even going so far as to bow and apologize to Kenny for the persecution his family has suffered. It's what allows Kenny to put aside his cruder impulses and begin to form a genuine friendship with the man.

Said friendship is what sets Kenny on his path to try and obtain the titan serum.  Interestingly, while he craves its power, it isn't so that he can unleash more bloodshed.  On the contrary, after seeing Uri, he wonders if compassion is a luxury for those who have power.  As such, he wants to see if him obtaining that power will give him the same sort of empathy that Uri has.  It's an interesting subversion of the usual tropes involving the acquisition of power.  It gave the episode a more layered approach to the story and allowed it to stand on its own rather than retread all too familiar territory.

There isn't too much forward progress in the overall plot.  Kenny hands Levi the serum and reveals their connection before he dies.  Historia takes her crown and is universally respected and admired.  We also see a quick stinger where the Beast titan looms over a beaten colossal titan and reveals that they will go through with his plan to obtain the coordinate rather than try to rescue Annie.  It would have been cool to see the fight, but the quick scene we get tells us all we need to know.  It was just good to see the Beast titan again after such a lengthy absence.  It seems like he's coming back to the forefront.

While I did like this episode quite a bit, this probably isn't an area where you want to take a lengthy hiatus.  Having the family mechanics and history fresh in your mind will help you enjoy and appreciate this episode a lot more.  I was able to get by on my broad strokes recollection of certain details, but it's looking like more regular viewing is going to be required if I'm going to move forward into the series.

'In the Tall Grass' Movie Review

 

This had been sitting on my Netflix list for some time now.  I figured it was time to start cleaning house and finally knock it out.  I read the original novella back when it was originally published in Esquire, but that was some time ago.  I did write about it, but those articles were lost when Examiner shut down.  I do remember not being particularly blown away by it.  That was probably one of the reasons why I kept this one on the backburner for as long as I did.

To the movie's credit, it actually is a stronger work than the source material.  Where the story felt pretty thin, the movie has time to flesh out certain elements and give the characters more time to shine.  While the characters are still daft for never thinking to use their car horns as a way try to help get others out, they do act more intelligently here than they did in the story.  One character attempts to leave himself a trail by tying some of the grass stems in knots and he later uses a child as a sort of periscope to try to keep them oriented while they try to make their way back to the main road.  Neither effort works, but still, credit for clever thinking.  Surprisingly, nobody tries to set the field ablaze.  We see one character smoking early on, I thought for sure that it was going to be a "Chekhov's Gun" situation, but nope.  Even when they're convinced that they're not getting out, nobody suggests taking the field with them.

Speaking of, the field itself gets more to do.  The disorientation and relocation are still present, but we see that the field can even distort time itself.  It adds to the eerie, alien element of the field and gives the movie some interesting "timey wimey ball" elements that end up playing a pretty critical role in the plot.  The rock also gets more detail and focus brought to it.  We're never told what it is exactly, but we get a lot more detail as to how it works and what its attempting to accomplish.

That being said, despite the movie being well under 2 hours (an hour, 40) it still drags quite a bit.  The director does get a little over-indulgent at certain points, especially as the movie gets closer to the climax.  It also gets tough to care when you see characters die repeatedly only to pop back in later.  It makes sense, as it's shown that the characters have gone through several loops and they're all intersecting at various points, but it does undercut the tension quite a bit.

The cast all do a good job.  Patrick Wilson is probably the stand out, as he gets to play both friendly and menacing, sometimes at the same time.

As far as King adaptations go, this one's solid.  It's faithful enough, but it also goes in its own direction.  It does have problems, so I don't know if I'd call it a must watch, but there's enough good stuff here to say that it doesn't warrant a hard pass either.

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