'Legends of Tomorrow' Season 3, Episode 5: 'Return of the Mack'

Going by this episode's plot hook, you might expect a standard, entertaining stand alone episode.  Seeing the team travel to Victorian era London to battle a vampire is an easy sell for most viewers.  I'm guessing this episode aired around Halloween because it takes on a spookier tone than other episodes. It helps it stand out while also keeping the show entertaining and fun.

While the vampire is revealed to be something of a Scooby-Doo-esque hoax (I'd say this is a spoiler, but the episode's pretty old at this point, so I don't think there should be a problem) we do get some supernatural goings-on as the plot involves an apparently legitimate psychic conduit and a resurrection ritual.  

A vampire would have made for a good one-off adversary, but instead, the episode builds up to the season's big bad, the oft mentioned "Mallus".  We don't see him, exactly.  Like Savitar, he starts off as a creepy disembodied voice (courtesy of John Noble) that is speaking through another person.  He even refers to himself as a god.  Is this a future Legend who is trying to create the circumstances that lead to his/her own existence?  I don't know, we'll have to wait and find out.  

In the meantime, he gets a nice forboding introduction, as Rip is dead set on proving he/it exists.  The Time Bureau believes he's a myth, but apparently the Time Masters were terrified of even the idea of Mallus' existence.  

It was nice to have Rip back.  It's not the warmest reunion, but it did seem like the characters were on the way towards mending fences.  Sadly, the way this episode ends, there's no apparent chance of that happening.  It's a pity.  Darville was great, but he does offer up a grim warning about what the team is about to face before he is dragged off by the Time Bureau. 

As far as sub-plots, there is some progression in regards to the "breaking up" of Firestorm.  Again, the plot relies heavily on the team needlessly keeping secrets from one another.  On the plus side, Jax's short term memory loss did provide some levity.

It's going to be sad to see Garber leave.  He has such a strong presence and often acts as the emotional cornerstone for both the team and the show.  I don't know how you're going to fill those shoes, but I pity whoever gets stuck with that gig.  

For some reason, and for the third time now, the idea of being Firestorm in 2018 is never brought up.  The hero can continue to exist and Stein can see his family, everyone wins, yes?  I guess this team is dead set on being time traveling superheroes now.

I did like the Curtis cameo.  It's nice to see small overlaps like this with shared universes.  Given the premise, this one is usually pretty compartmentalized, but they found a way to work it in without it feeling shoehorned. 

The plot does lag a little in the middle, less because of slow pacing, but because it seems like the story is getting a bit too convoluted for its own good.  It evens out as the episode progresses, but it is still a weak spot.

The inclusion of the song which inspired the episode's title was also forced in both instances.  While "the mack" could return to who was resurrected, it seemed like it was only included so that the name made sense.  

Really, though, that's a nitpick. 

This was a strong debut for the season's big bad.  The other Arrowverse shows seemed to have held off, and waited for the episode just before the big crossover to really get their arcs moving.  This gives them a bit more room to build up hype for their own plot before we get to that upcoming event (which I'm looking forward to, of course).  Hopefully, we see that momentum carry on as we move further into the season.

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'The X-Files' Season 11, Episode 8: 'Familiar'

After the last episode broke the mold and went the avant-garde route, this episode brings viewers back to the well, with an episode focusing on two FBI agents investigating the death of a young child in a small town.

Not surprisingly, Mulder thinks supernatural forces are at work, while Scully thinks that the monster in question is all too human.  Unlike a lot of their cases, both seemed equally plausible.  In fact, I was convinced that this would be an episode where the monster did turn out to just be a run of the mill human.  Not knowing which way the plot was going to go was a pretty welcome addition.  It made it more engaging for the viewer.

Ultimately, this episode gets to have its cake and eat it too.  It does showcase the horrors of mob mentality and rushes to judgment, but we also get some creepiness of the more supernatural variety, as witchcraft and demonic entities are at play.  The fact that the episode pulls off both as well as it does is one of its major strengths.

That being said, I'm torn on Mr. Chuckleteeth, the children's show character that acts as the primary form of the titular familiar.  It's effective enough, but it does fall in to that "Annabelle" trap of being so creepy that you wonder why any parent would want their kid anywhere near it.  For that matter, how are the kids themselves not weirded out?  Even those Teletubbie expies were freakish.

The climax itself was exciting and tense, but it in hindsight it did seem a little anticlimactic.  With all the talk of a door to Hell being opened, you'd expect something bigger than what we got.  As complex as things seemed, it all wrapped up very quickly. The fact that the agents didn't really do anything also ends up being a negative as ultimately, they were just along for the ride.

By and large, the script and acting are solid.  Characters act in a believable fashion.  Even when one of the cops goes off the rails and attempts a roaring rampage of revenge, you get why he's doing it.  The scenes of family members (and the town as a whole) being distraught over the deaths adds a bit of poignancy to the episode as well. 

This episode is not as strong as its predecessor, but it works well for what it is.  With only a handful of episodes remaining, seeing some forward momentum on the ongoing story would have been nice, but I'm not going to complain about getting a solid stand alone monster of the week episode. 

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'Legends of Tomorrow' Season 3, Episode 4: 'Phone Home'

Ray's sudden childhood death sends the team to 1988 to investigate.  It turns out that young Ray has befriended a baby time displaced Dominator; this naturally gets him into a little bit of trouble.

As the title would suggest, this episode is mostly a giant homage to E.T.  It doesn't come off as derivative, however.  It captures the heart behind the film and carries it into its own plot.  We get a good glimpse at what Ray's childhood was like and it results in some significant character development.

It all feels natural and the episode does a good job of working in what we already know of Ray into what we see here.  His love of Arthurian lore is even given a nod, as invoking that rhetoric is a way that Zari manages to gain his trust.

Speaking of, even Zari manages to show some layers that she wasn't able to in her debut episode.  If it seemed odd that I never even brought her up, it's because she was just kind of there.  Here, she has an arc as she goes from skeptical loner to making a genuine attempt to forge the sort of bond that Ray talked about in the show's opening scene.

The others each get moments as well.  Mick is apparently a fan of musicals.  It adds some depth, but having Mick's lines delivered in Purcell's growly voice did add another layer to the scene's humor.

Even the dominators get some depth.  Well, at least one does.  With a baby dominator missing, it's not surprising that the mother comes looking for it.  When she is reunited with her child, she is visibly happy and doesn't push the conflict any further, choosing to leave instead. 

I'm torn on the Martin sub-plot.  Even if the series recap didn't remind you that he was about to have a grand-daughter, it's pretty obvious that Stein wouldn't have any sort of nefarious intent.  It made that whole plot line seem a little hollow.  It pays off, however, as Jax and Mick's reaction to learning the truth does end up being rather heartwarming.  Jax is stunned that Stein thought that they would have a problem with Stein wanting to be there for the birth of his grandchild and even Mick is determined to get him there after he sabotages the jump ship to keep Stein from what he thought as ratting them out to the Time Bureau.  The latter even brings cigars to mark the occasion.

Not surprisingly, this episode also provides a healthy dose of humor.  It seems like Nate is being relegated to comic relief as he spends this episode lusting after Ray's mom.  It is used to fuel the romantic tension with Amaya, but hopefully he's able to contribute more in future episodes.

This episode delivers everything you come to watch this show for.  It seems like the show really has found its groove as every episode this season has managed to bring the goods.  Hopefully the momentum can continue.  I have to really book it on these as the fourth season starts in a month.  Granted, I'm behind on pretty much everything, but this has more of a ticking clock to it.  I don't want to fall into the same trap I did before and have to wait for the new season to hit Netflix before I can watch it. 

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'Jessica Jones' Season 2, Episode 4: 'AKA God Help the Hobo'

One of the frequent criticisms leveled against the Netflix MCU shows is in regards to pacing.  That flaw rears its ugly head here as the show hits its fourth episode.

You'd think that this wouldn't be the case.  The season is well underway and Jessica has just confronted what appears to be her "big bad" for the season.  They even have a picture of her.  There should be momentum, but before that we have to touch on several of the various sub-plot threads that have been introduced.

The result is very strange.  Things do happen in this episode.  The status quo is shaken up on a few fronts, but as you're watching it doesn't feel like anything is happening for the longest time.

One of the bigger shake-ups involves Jessica's landlord turning from antagonist to love interest.  It's a pretty drastic turn (something even he himself lampshades when Jessica starts to get a little frisky,) but that bonding scene they shared was rather well done.  After she saved his kid (who was admittedly being an imbecile) not warming up to her would have been bizarre.  His initial reaction was kind of irritating, but at least he owns up to it later.

Speaking of antagonists, Pryce makes a return.  He calls out Hogarth on her lackluster efforts regarding the civil suit (rightly so) only to be told that his grudge is about a fragile male ego or something?  I'm pretty sure if he were assaulted by a man, his reaction would be the same.  That whole speech Hogarth gave was stupid and she should feel stupid for suggesting it.

In fact, Hogarth is one of this season's major flaws.  I feel bad for Carrie-Ann Moss.  She's turning in a very strong performance, but the character just sucks now as a result of the way she's being written.  Given her condition, I feel like I should sympathize, but the script goes out of its way to make sure I don't.  It's very bizarre.

Pryce also pays a visit to offer Malcolm a job.  He makes a solid pitch, offering Malcolm a chance to help people and to be better appreciated, but the offer is (of course) rebuffed.  Enlisting Malcolm would have stung, no doubt, but Pryce is a tricky one and it appears his visit had another purpose, as we'll see later.

This episode also gives us a bit of follow up on Griffin's supposed nefarious intent.  While he and Trish are able to sort out the snafu regarding her alleged new beau, he does take a post-coital call where he says that "she doesn't know and he doesn't want her to find out" after she's out of ear shot.  Yeah, I smell red herring (that's two in a row!)  He's planning to propose or take her on some grand vacation or something innocuous.  I can feel it.

Not so innocuous is the killer, who makes a brief appearance at the end of the episode to dispatch of a goon that Pryce enlisted to rob Jessica's office.  It's, not surprisingly, quite gruesome and it makes for a more energized finale.  The fact that Jessica is now implicated only makes things worse.

The episode as a whole really hammers in the parallel between Jessica and the killer.  It's a bit blunt force, but after so many "dark mirror" villains in the MCU, it's nice to see that the connection is being looked at in a more in depth fashion.  Normally, it's only given lip service, but the similarities really rattle Jessica as she finds out more about her new adversary.  You can especially see it at the end, when Jessica is telling the police, "that's not me" as she's being detained.  Obviously, she's saying she didn't do it; but to the viewer, it's equally obvious that she's reminding herself that she's not that person in a more figurative sense.

This episode was a slow burn.  Some may appreciate that, while others will think that it's just slow.  I do have to say I fall into the latter.  It does end on a high enough note to keep the viewer engaged, but I wouldn't mind seeing some of these plot threads come to an end.

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'Castle Rock' Episode 3: 'Local Color'

This episode centers on Molly Strand, the psychic/empath who was Henry Deaver's childhood neighbor.

This episode doesn't quite capture the magic of its predecessor, but it does offer up some solid character development.  There isn't much in the way of plot progression, but it does seem like things are starting to move forward.

We appear to get an answer to the question of who killed Henry's dad.  On the one hand, wrapping that up to move on to other plot points would make sense.  On the other, the way they did it was too easy.  This seems like something that should be a major wham moment and the reveal didn't do that.

The opening scene of child-Molly pulling out the father's respirator is a chilling one.  I got flashbacks to that scene in "Breaking Bad" when Walt let Jane die, but it's undermined by the quickness of the reveal.  More than that, I don't buy it.  The way Molly's ability works, I could easily see this being a fake out.  She sees and feels what others do, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was just her seeing herself in the killer's shoes.  If nothing else, she seems to think she did it, so there's some emotional drama there, but I still feel like something else is going on.

The episode does benefit from a strong performance by Melanie Lynskey.  It allows us to connect to and empathize with the character, even with her quirks, supernatural ability, and emotional issues.  Had the episode been devoid of that, this would have felt like a waste of time.

 Oddly enough, there are times when the show's horror element seems to get in the way.  That "trial" scene when Molly is trying to score some drugs comes out of nowhere and has no real bearing on the plot.  It's somewhat unnerving, but it also feels like "weirdness for weirdness' sake".  I know the town is supposed to be off, but it felt out of place.  If nothing else, they should have built up to it better because it's jarring.  The fact that nothing much is really said of it after only makes it worse.

Once again, Skarsgard leaves a hell of an impression.  It's amazing how he's able to do so much with so little.  He only has a handful of lines, but his scene with Henry near the end of the episode manages to be one of the episode's highlights and acts as a potential omen of things to come.

All in all, this was another impressive showing.  It wasn't quite as captivating as its predecessor, but what it did, it did well.  From what I've read, the show only gets better.  Considering how good the show has been thus far, I can't wait to see what happens as we move further into the season.

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'The X-Files' Season 11, Episode 7: 'Rm9sbG94ZXJz'

A date at a high tech sushi restaurant turns into a nightmare as the two agents incur the wrath of the robotic staff.

The show (and sci-fi in general) have tackled the "rogue artificial intelligence" plot line before, but this manages to make the concept feel fresh.  This isn't like Brainiac or Skynet.  The tech isn't omnicidal, just really peeved and persistent.

This artificial intelligence is also more frightening because it's more realistic.  Tech is having a bigger impact on the world and this episode showcases that quite well.  Some of it is exaggerated for both comedic and horrific effect, but a lot of it rings true.  Seeing the agents struggle with various apps and devices mirrors a lot of what happens in our own lives.

A part of me would have liked to see the whole episode take place within the confines of the restaurant, but having the reign of terror expand beyond those walls did pay off in many respects.

"Minimalist" is still very much an apt descriptor for this episode.  There's very little dialogue and the plot is contained to a handful of locations.  It works really well and makes it more memorable.  That opening scene with Mulder and Scully in the empty restaurant sitting next to each other, saying nothing and just looking at their phones managed to speak volumes.

I'm not sure what robots need with a tip, but I suppose it reinforces that old adage about not ticking off the people who serve you your food.  To some extent, though, the disproportionate retribution aspect only adds to the aforementioned comedy/horror aspect.

That balance really adds to the episode's enjoyment factor.  You'll find yourself simultaneously laughing at how absurd the whole thing gets, but still find yourself creeped out by it.  It's a tough thing to do, and this episode succeeds in spades.

This is an episode that could have easily dragged, but I didn't find pacing to be a problem at all.  I was pretty much hooked from the intro and I never found myself checking the clock.

If this episode does have a weak spot, it's the fact that it feels very disconnected from what we've seen before.  It's a perfectly self contained stand alone (and acts as a prime example of why the fandom prefers those to the mythos based episodes,) but at the same time, it seems like it takes place in a completely different world that Mulder and Scully happen to be in.  Maybe they intersected with an alternate timeline?  I don't know.

All in all, though, this episode was a blast.  It's topical and timely, creepy, funny, and engaging throughout.  This will likely go down as one of the season's best and could even act as a contender for one of the show's best.

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'Legends of Tomorrow' Season 3, Episode 3: 'Zari'

Following on the stinger from the previous episode, this entry pits the team against Mari's nemesis, the newly resurrected Kuasa.

Sadly, there are few ties to the animated series beyond her presence.  One of the other totems is a plot point and Kuasa does drop the fact that she and Amaya are related near the end, but that's about it.  I would have liked to see more done, especially when Vixen Mk II confronts Vixen Mk I's enemy.  The subtle expression on Kuasa's face as Vixen steps forward and that line are sufficient, though.  Instead, she just serves as something of a hired gun, acting as a time travelling assassin who is currently targeting the title character in the year 2042.

Alas, the future seen here isn't much brighter than 2046. Metas have been deemed illegal by Argus and have instituted a police state. This isn't really the problem for the team that you think it would be.  I was kind of baffled when Ray, Sara, Mick, and Nate were accosted by a squad.  I mean, only one of them is meta.  The others are a ninja, a man equipped with fancy tech, and a thug with a flamethrower.

Ultimately, they act as window dressing, as the episode's primary conflicts focus on both Kuasa and the Time Bureau.

The latter is a bit of a wallbanger as the conflict was completely unnecessary.  Previous episodes have shown how Sara is a better fit for the role of team leader, but this one decided to go in the opposite direction.  Stein or Rip would have handled things much better.  Everything does work out for the most part, but some bad decisions were made for really dumb reasons.

At least Nate had the excuse of "tripping balls".  His attempt to help Amaya with her totem troubles through a potent hallucinogen oddly acts as the episode highlight.  Not only does it help Amaya get her groove back, but there's some nice foreshadowing as it's revealed that the totem amps up its power when a big threat is approaching.  As such, Amaya has to trust it and go with the flow, lest the power overwhelm her.

On top of that, Nate's antics are just funny.  You'd think the fact that he doesn't really contribute much would be a detriment, but he got some of the episode's best lines.

Other parts of the script are somewhat eye-roll or groan inducing, but those instances are few and far between.

The "Prison Break" line would have been good for a chuckle....if the show hadn't already done that before with Wentworth Miller.  I get it, but still.

While this episode is probably the weakest of the season so far (though that's not saying much as we're not very far in) it does have its strong points.  We have Nate's drug antics and a formidable adversary in Kuasa (seriously she gives Sara a run for her money and doesn't even invoke her powers in that fight.)  The conflict with the Time Bureau escalates (for dumb reasons, but still) and we get an idea of what sort of threat is brewing.  I think this episode was more about setting things up for the season and it did that competently.

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