'Legends of Tomorrow' Season 3, Episode 6: 'Helen Hunt'

The temporal anomalies place Helen of Troy in 1930's Hollywood.  It seems the woman's beauty lives up to its reputation, as it isn't long before film studios are vying to make her a star.  Not surprisingly, things escalate quickly.

For her part, Helen doesn't want people getting violent in her name, the chaos just happens to surround her.  The way the episode plays it, it almost comes off like some sort of metahuman ability.  Alas, there's nothing to suggest that and we're supposed to believe that it's just men being men.

Yeah, this episode has a weird misandric streak going.  It's heavy-handed and eye roll inducing at points, but thankfully, the good in the episode outweighs the bad here.

It's trying to do "girl power", but it's done badly here. This episode shows why people would roll their eyes at the message when common sense would dictate that there's no reason to.  We've known since Arrow's second season that Sara Lance is an awesome character, I don't need to be told this after half a decade of being shown.

The inclusion of Hedy Lamarr does help make up for this.  I was unaware of her and figured she was fictitious.  Nope, real actress who made real contributions to scientific development. Shining a spotlight on her not only provides a much better way to display female capability, but allows for some education to seep into the over the top superhero romp. 

I was concerned about the "freaky friday" subplot between Jax and Stein, but that honestly ended up working out really well.  Both actors did a good job of capturing the opposite character's mannerisms and it gave us plenty of great humor highlights throughout.  I think Darhk busting out laughing when he finds out what happened stands as my favorite moment, though.

Speaking of, Damien's return is another plot element that could have become a detriment.  Thankfully, McDonough continues to shine as the villain.  The fact that he's clearly having a blast playing the role also adds to the viewer's enjoyment.

He seems to have some sort of end goal, though we don't know what it is.  He offers to let the Legends live if they just return to the present and let the anachronisms run wild.  All he says is that "it's good for business".  I guess it's something that will be uncovered later.

One thing we do learn, however, is that the woman who revived him is his daughter.  It gives her a bit more motivation for reviving him and allying herself with him.  Seeing as she is looking to be a recurring villain, it's for the better.

Other familial relations are brought to light as Amaya learns of her connection to Kuasa.  While the two do get more screen time together than they did before, not much is done.  At the very least, Amaya displays some contempt for how Kuasa is using her totem.  Whether the enmity becomes more personal later on remains to be seen.  Either way, this sub-plot is allowing the "Vixen" animated series to have an effect on the larger Arrowverse, which is nice to see. 

As to that wham shot revealing where the Legends end up dropping off Helen when she reveals that she was quite unhappy in her own time (spoiler alert: it's Themyscira,) I hope the show does something with it.  It's a fitting enough resolution to Helen's arc in the episode;but a part of me is somewhat vexed, as it's highly unlikely that Wonder Woman will appear in the Arrowverse.  Then again, it is just supposed to be a nod to comic fans, so I'm probably overthinking it.

Then again, there are other Amazons.  Maybe have Artemis or Donna Troy or Cassie appear in Diana's stead.  Heck, have Donna be Helen's new identity, the last name could be her way of acknowledging and paying tribute to her roots, but still marking a new chapter in her life's story with a new first name.   

It would be a shame to establish that and not have it go anywhere. It does leave the possibility open for future plot potential, so I suppose there's that.

This episode was not without its problems, but all things considered, it could have been a lot worse.  It had some good banter, character arcs were advanced, and the climax was very reminiscent of something out of "Dragon Ball Z". In the grand scheme of things, that's not too shabby.

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'Jessica Jones' Season 2, Episode 5: 'AKA The Octopus'

In a surprise twist, Hydra is revealed to be the mastermind behind everything!

Actually, that's not true.  That's not true at all.  Would've been a hell of a twist, though, if for no other reason than it would help fuse the currently fragmented MCU.

Never the less, this entry in the series stands as a pretty strong one.  It keeps things moving at a brisk pace, gives the wide cast things to do, and provides more than a few highlights for the season. Heck, even Hogarth is tolerable.  Considering how she's been depicted this season, that in itself deserves massive kudos.

It was surprising how long it took to clear Jess' name in regards to the murder of Pryce's flunkie.  Even Jess notes that it was a sloppy frame up (or possibly an unintentional one?)  I guess that's just bureaucracy at work, though they do justify it a little by saying that some of the cops have a grudge against Jessica for past actions. 

Or maybe they have a grudge against "vigilante superheroes" in general.  The idea has been brought up before in prior Netflix shows and one of the cops does make a crack about how "those people" like to team up.  Jessica does seem to gain an ally in one of the cops.  It makes for some further character development and gives the apparent plot cul-de-sac some longer lasting impact.

On other fronts, we learn about Griffin's true intentions.  I have to say....I called it.  It turns out all his mysterious conversations were about planning an elaborate engagement proposal event.

I did find it weird that her response was "thank you", and not necessarily a yes.  You'd think that the fact that she put the ring on her finger would be enough, but Griffin is smart enough to pick up on the fact and does discreetly follow up by making a more private inquiry later.

Trish's response is a bit odd.  It doesn't really mesh with what we'd seen of their relationship up to this point.  Maybe it's supposed to be a sign that the drug is having an effect on her psyche (it is clearly shown to have effects on her physically even after it's "worn off") or maybe it's a fear of commitment, I don't know.  It's still strange.

Whether this is the end for Griffin remains to be seen.  Maybe this jilting is the beginning of a face-heel turn?  It wouldn't surprise me, but hopefully, the show avoids going down that road.  It has bigger fish to fry.

One such fish is the main villain, whom Jessica continues to tail by pursuing a new lead: the man in prison for another one of "Leslie"s murders. 

He's not all too helpful, nor is he particularly menacing.  It subverts the old "Silence of the Lambs" dynamic a bit and gives Jessica a chance to show her compassionate side.  More than once, she knows when to back off when her interrogation seems to be doing more harm than good. 

It's a decent enough scene, but I couldn't get over how they kept referring to "octopuses".  I thought that was one of those faux-words, like irregardless, but maybe not.  I still found it cringe inducing every time a character said it, as I thought that "octopi" was the correct term.  Doing some light googling, apparently, it isn't.  I still say that "octopuses" sounds weird, though.

We also get some brief development about the antagonist.  Apparently, she's learning to play the piano.  It sounds trivial and mundane, but it does put the villain du jour in a different light.  She also has an overly cheerful neighbor who brings her baby over to hear said music. 

You can tell that the woman is trying to be pleasant, but when the neighbor's baby starts crying, it's only a matter of time before the anger issues bubble up to the surface.  Thankfully, the family books it before they can become the target of her rage.

This scene does present something of a contrast to Jessica, though.  Sure, it's meant to highlight their emotional issues, but Jess largely deals with it by being in a perpetually sour and snarky mood.  This woman, on the other hand, seems to take her cues from the Hulk.  She's initially more pleasant, but is more prone to going into "Smash!" mode.  That poor piano never really stood a chance. 

The episode's big ending is a bit of a let down, however.  While Jessica does discover a figure from her past and does run into the woman again, the confrontation is cut short when the two book it.  Why she's running when she's stronger than Jessica is beyond me, but she does break the aquarium glass. 

The cliffhanger is supposed to imply some tsunami type flood coming Jessica's way, but I don't think the tanks were that big.  I just see it cutting to Jess' POV and seeing the water spilling out onto the floor creating a puddle across the room.  I mean, the animals would likely die and that would be tragic in its own way, but it doesn't really have the same umph that the producers might have wanted it to. 

Still, this was a solid entry and a good point to get back in.  After the haitus, this managed to move things along in such a way that it didn't take too much mental effort to get caught up.  It also raises enough questions that I'll want to sit down and watch the next episode a lot sooner.  I might not be able to binge, but I can at least get into a steady viewing pattern as we move closer to the show's halfway point.

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'Castle Rock' Episode 4: 'The Box'

With Halloween just around the corner, it seemed like a good time to return to Castle Rock.  This is one of many shows that should have been done already, but I'm like super busy, so here we go.

I was worried that I would have a hard time getting caught up, but it was easy enough to jump back into the plot without too much struggle.  I suppose that's one of the strengths of having a show that hinges on vague mysteries, a viewer can jump back in with a "broad strokes" mind set and still keep up. 

I wasn't really feeling the episode for the first half.  People are conversing on issues that have been brought up before, but the episode hit the 25 minute mark and I found myself wondering if anything had actually happened.  It was very strange.  It's not even like the episode was boring, it just didn't feel very eventful.

There was one highlight where Skarsgard's nameless character outspooks the attorney who tries to put the screws to him by talking about how he tortured people in Iraq.  "The Kid" throws out a Bible verse, stands up, and has the lawyer backing away in fear within seconds.  It was kind of glorious.  Skarsgard may not be getting a lot of screen time at this point, but he's making every second of it count.  A part of me wishes he had more, but I think using him sparingly now is for the better.

Once the episode hits its second half, things really escalate.  We have a very tense scene with a creepy old barber, a stunning revelation as Pangborn reveals that Henry's dad pinned the blame of his death on Henry and that Pangborn took effort to keep the kid out of prison, and a jaw dropping finale.  This is the stuff that'll keep you watching.  It pulls you in and makes you want to find out what happens next.  If the episode's slow start bugged you, I think what happens here more than makes up for it.

The episode does put great songs to use, both in the opening and closing scenes.  It's always nice to see Tom Waits get some attention and the song does work.  Roy Orbison's "Crying", however, will likely be the more memorable inclusion, due to its use in the aforementioned closing sequence.  In lesser hands, the song's inclusion probably would have come off as corny or cliche, but it actually worked really well here and helped augment the horror of what we were seeing.

With everything that went down in the second half, the next episode has plenty of momentum going in.  Here's hoping it can put it to good use and build on it in order to make for even more captivating episodes as we move in to the season's second half.

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'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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