Bob’s Burgers: “The Last Gingerbread House on the Left”

Kyle’s Thoughts

“The Last Gingerbread House on the Left” fell flat. All the parts of a good Bob’s Burgers episode were there, but the execution was off this week.

Mr. Fischoeder and Felix’s presence adds spice to the titular gingerbread house building contest and the rest of the rich folk (in that thread) play off each other well. There’s something about watching Fischoeder suffer and asking Bob for help that’s satisfying (Fischoeder wants Bob to finish last in the contest, so he won’t finish last another year) and every time Fischoeder tempts Bob with free rent makes for great motivation for Bob. “The Last Gingerbread House on the Left” even gives Bob a good alternative to following Fischoeder’s plan, and the result is a great character moment for Bob.

Throw in some over-the-top gun play and the gingerbread house building contest is intense. Where “The Last Gingerbread House on the Left” falls short is on the caroling side of its story. It was old hat and frankly, boring. If you’ve ever seen a sitcom, you knew the carolers (Linda, the kids, and Teddy) would end up at the creepy house, they’d be spooked by the owner, and the owner would turn out to be a great guy, the person who epitomizes Linda’s (the head caroler’s) vision. It added little.

If you looked at only the gingerbread house building portion, “The Last Gingerbread House on the Left” was a riot, but the other half drags down an otherwise solid episode. Still, Bob’s Burgers maintains its place as one of the better sitcoms on TV.

Thanks for reading.

The Flash: “Killer Frost”

Kyle’s Thoughts

For everyone in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving. For everyone else, happy Thursday. I figured I’d write a quick review on this week’s Flash before I carbo-load and slip into a food coma.

With an episode name like “Killer Frost” Flash had to focus on the sometimes villain and it’s what we’d expect. Unfortunately, everything about this episode was what we’d come to expect. Remember two months ago, when I projected who Alchemy was? Yep, I called it. (To avoid spoilers in this review I’ve added a link to the previous review with Alchemy’s identity; check it out here.) The reveal was anticlimactic.

And that’s been the problem with Flash this season. It hasn’t been bad—it’s been mostly watchable, unlike Arrow last season—but it plays everything safe. The show hasn’t risked or changed anything: the big bad villain is a speedster (Savitar), a different flavor of Harrison Wells aids the group, each year adds a sidekick speedster, and Barry must go back in time and change the past. It’s not bad. Okay, time-traveling is old and lazy writing, but it’s not horrible; it’s just yawn-inducing.

While I like the nod to Barry’s true power being hope (when Barry turns Lantern in the comics, he’s part of the Blue Lantern Corps fueled by hope), Killer Frost’s arc was rushed. She turns evil in a jiff and jumps back just as fast because Barry hopes the person she was is still inside. I’m not sure if we’ve seen this sequence of events before, but we’ve seen Barry put his faith in people and have it work out. This is keeping with his character but I’m not sure Killer Frost would’ve turned back to “good” so quickly, especially since she’s been wearing power dampening handcuffs for weeks, because she feared she’ll lose control. It’s very convenient.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. Barry will go back in time and erase this story thread from existence. Jim and I have mentioned time-travel as Flash’s reset or easy button, but the problem with hitting this button is that you can’t build characters. How will we know which parts of this timeline should make it to the new timeline or which parts of previous timelines should carry over? Will it make sense that Wally still has powers and Killer Frost doesn’t? Flash can justify anything by its time-travel effect without having to put much thought into a cohesive narrative. Like Jim and I have said, it’s lazy.

Flash continues to be watchable, but I’d like to see it make more progress with its characters by dumping Barry’s time warps. I believe Flash will increase the dangers of time-travel, so things could get interesting after the break.

Thanks for reading.

Supergirl: “The Darkest Places”

Kyle’s Thoughts

Supergirl’s season gained a lot of clarity in “The Darkest Places,” and that’s a good thing. The bombshells that fell this week should have lasting repercussions, unless Supergirl is subject to Flashpoint. This is the week before a Flash–Supergirl crossover, so you never know. Still, it’s unlikely Flashpoint will affect Supergirl in the same way as Arrow. I reserve the right to change my opinion of “The Darkest Places” if Flashpoint does a number on Supergirl. That said, “The Darkest Places” was solid.

“The Darkest Places” handled Supergirl’s romantic storylines well. The restraint from showing people jumping into bed with anyone in which they are in deep like has the series building relationships. Mon-El expressed an interest in Kara. I’m not sure if his feelings will be returned, but with the exception that it was obvious Mon-El and Kara would tempt romance, I like how Supergirl has handled this so far. The potential Alex-Maggie love story is back on the table. Again, Supergirl is handling this story well; it refrains from showing gratuitous sex. J’onn and M’gann may have a romantic entanglement too, but M’Gann’s origin is one of the major bombshells. Or should I say truth bombs?

J’onn finds out that M’Gann is a white Martian instead of a green Martian. Her survivor’s guilt should have legs. It also keeps J’onn relevant. Lillian Luthor (Lena and Lex’s mom) reveals to Kara that she’s the head of Cadmus. Kara must consider how she’ll handle this information; Lena could side with her mother. Kara and the Luthors just got more interesting. Jimmy’s secret identity is also spilled to Alex by way of Winn. Jimmy doesn’t know Alex knows his secret. We’ll have to see how long she can keep this secret from everyone. I hope Supergirl takes its time building this tension. These three bombs made “The Darkest Places” a jam-packed episode, but there’s more.

Jeremiah Danvers (Dean Cain) returned. He helped Mon-El and Kara escape from Cadmus. Of course, Kara let Alex know she saw her father and that he was well. The fact she shared this information should eat away at Alex until she lets Kara know Jimmy’s secret. If Danvers’ return wasn’t enough, Cyborg Superman made his debut. He’s the real Hank Henshaw—or a Cadmus upgrade from the original—and comic fans should enjoy that pay off.

Even with all these positives, “The Darkest Places” had some hiccups. There might be too much going on. I’m still not sold on Jimmy as a vigilante. He logged the most superhero work by tracking down a serial killer, but he was a stand-in for Kara, while she was captured. This week marks another episode without much mention of Kara’s journalist career. Kara’s role as a journalist grounds her, and Supergirl loses something when it’s not present; Jimmy as a superhero continues to detract from this storyline.

Why must Arrowverse shows recycle plot devices? Supergirl ends with Cyborg Superman retrieving data about last year’s Undertaking of a plot device Medusa. While I like how Supergirl uses vernacular its TV viewers would understand (other Arrowverse shows might pull an obscure comic reference never touched on in the show), it might be too soon to bring back Medusa.

Overall, “The Darkest Places” was a solid episode. I have misgivings about a Flash-Supergirl crossover but they stem more from the Flash. Supergirl continues to outshine the other CW superhero shows. Thanks for reading.

Bob’s Burgers: “The Quirkducers”

Kyle’s Thoughts

“The Quirkducers” does a good job of integrating multiple Bob’s Burgers characters, both main and extended cast. Most characters had a want and distinct arc in this spoof of The Producers. While I wouldn’t place “The Quirkducers” as one of the best Tina-driven episodes of all time, it explores the character more than the past three or four episodes and that’s a step in the right direction.

Bob’s Burgers is at its best when it incorporates music and does in “The Quirkducers” to great effect. The Belcher kids put on a school musical, “The Quirky Turkey,” based on Tina’s erotic holiday fiction—love that this is a thing now. Similar to Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom (gotta love a Gene Wilder homage: The Producers) Louise and Gene want the play to flop so they can get a half day before their Thanksgiving break, but Tina isn’t aware of any shenanigans during most of the preparations. This fuels a fire between Tina who wants the play to be great and her classmates. Tina, being who she is, goes along with the plan and mayhem ensues.

The plays about turkeys who don’t know they’re on the dinner menu and Louise gets graphic with how they die. The moment her plan goes off leads to a nice character moment for Louise. She wonders if flying turkey guts and giblets were too much and she’d scar someone. The planning also lead to one of the funniest lines, delivered by Gene. “It’ll be Carrie meets Gallagher meets Top Chef meets Double Dare.” It’s an apt description and classic Gene.

Bob doesn’t have much to work with besides allowing Linda to treat a misshapen potato as her dead grandpa, but since so many characters are invested in the musical’s success or failure (seven by my count), it’s understandable that Bob’s arc takes a backseat. I’d still like to have seen Linda struggle with the potato-grandpa more or have Bob put up more of a fight, but the thread tied into the play in a satisfying way.

“The Quirkducers” may be one of the strongest episodes so far this season. It gives me hope that Bob’s Burgers will continue its upward swing.

Thanks for reading.

Bob’s Burgers: “Large Brother, Where Fart Thou?”

Kyle’s Thoughts

“Large Brother, Where Fart Thou?” was an episode cut into three unbalanced threads. Bob’s Burgers has a knack for making each thread matter but the first half of this week’s double-header was disjointed.

I’m growing tired of Tina’s love interests. I get that she’s a teenage girl and she’s dealing with hormones spiking, but there was a time when the writers would center a story around different facets of her character. She loves horses, authors erotic friend fiction, works too hard (at times) at the restaurant, and wants to please her parents. That’s a lot of fertile ground—the same traits that make her one of the best animated characters on TV—and it’s being neglected. The ubiquity of the Tina love story made this thread miss its mark.

Bob and Linda getting high from butterscotch cookies was hilarious. It doesn’t add much to the strong character moment (to come) but did a great job of offsetting the waters explored by Gene.

Speaking of Gene, he’s the titular large brother, and he has a moment where he stands up for his baby sister Louise. As the middle child Gene has never needed or wanted to protect his little sister—it doesn’t help that Louise acts like she doesn’t need anyone to help her—and yet we see his struggle as he ultimately assumes that role of big, rather than just large brother. It’s a goofy and heart-warming moment that only a show like Bob’s Burgers can deliver, and it’s one of this young season’s best.

Tired Tina love story aside, “Large Brother, Where Fart Thou?” was a solid episode, and Bob’s Burgers continues a strong seventh season.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Jim’s Thoughts

The first reviews I saw for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them were pretty flat. At first, I thought critics were just turning on J.K. Rowling, but when the credits rolled, I found myself double checking to be sure she actually wrote it. To be frank, I was shocked by how bad the movie was.

Fantastic Beasts does nothing to make you love its setting. There’s no wonder to it, beyond the moments we get inside Newt’s TARDIS-like suitcase. New York City is portrayed as a bleak place mostly devoid of anything worth hoping to save. The American wizarding world is a cold bureaucracy and the city itself draws direct parallels to Salem (as in witch trials).

The sort of character development that, for me, makes Rowling’s work so wonderful went missing without a trace here. Newt (the main character), is a poor man’s Doctor Who (note the TARDIS reference), and Jacob is a well-meaning oaf who we’re meant to like because Newt quite literally says so.

The plotline with Newt tracking down his beasts is only half the story. On the other side, stock-villainous-type played by Colin Farrell is searching for a magical child who isn’t Harry Potter because it’s only the 20s. We’re told this child must fit certain parameters, and the big reveal is that they don’t. All we’re given for an explanation is “somehow,” the rules don’t apply. “Somehow” isn’t a satisfying answer to anything, and it’s a prime example of the problem magic poses to a story. Magic can be anything, but it has to bend to its own logic. It doesn’t in this movie.

What’s somehow worse, the two stories don’t really share any significant link. They just cross paths with each other because they’re happening in the same place at the same time. It’s the epitome of lazy writing.

Fantastic Beasts gives us some cool visuals, but I burned out on them less than halfway through the movie when it became clear the story wanted to throw around the weight of the Harry Potter films without earning any of its own.

I expected to come out of the theatre at least satisfied. The end result is that Fantastic Beasts isn’t even good enough to get me interested in the next installment.

Kyle’s Take

Like Jim I had to double check that J. K. Rowling wrote the screenplay to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She’s a great writer and I enjoy the Harry Potter books, but all this movie did was spur me to reread the original books.

Not only does Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them not live up to the Harry Potter universe, it doesn’t live up to its title. We see plenty of fantastic beasts, but we never see their natural habitats. Where do lions come from, kids? Not Africa. Savanna’s wrong too. That’s right; lions come from zoos. Yes. These fantastic beasts live in a magical zoo inside a suitcase. If I called a story “On the Road,” you wouldn’t expect me to spin a tale of how I spent Saturday on my couch eating Flaming Hot Cheetos. Fantastic Beasts is a Flaming Hot Cheeto. Actually, I like the occasional Flaming Hot Cheeto, so the movie better resembles the process that happens a few hours after I eat.

I agree with Jim and his assessment of the world outside the magical, suitcase zoo. The wizarding bureaucracy sucks almost as much life out of the Harry Potter universe as the focus on trade negotiations and parliamentary procedures did during Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

You’d also be hard pressed to find an American wizard to root for in this movie. The two females are merely love interests and the principal American male is a bumbling no-maj or muggle. This same guy is two or three years removed from serving in the military and looks like he ate his twin brother and didn’t bother to work off the calories. They didn’t make United States Army uniforms to fit a man his size in World War I; they don’t make them that size today. And the British protagonist Newt Scamander is unlikeable but that’s probably because he stinks at his job.

Let’s look past Scamander giving one of his fantastic beasts to a gangster for information, which was terrible enough, and focus on why he’s in the United States. He’s in the U.S. to release a thunderbird into its natural habitat, but he never makes it to Arizona. No, Scamander releases the rehabilitated and confused thunderbird in New York City. That’s the equivalent of a wildlife conservationist taking that same zoo lion mentioned earlier, nursing it to health, and dropping it in the middle of the Sahara Desert. In under 200 miles you’d get a dead lion. Thunderbirds aren’t the same as lions, but when we’re first introduced to the thunderbird, Scamander says it’d be catastrophic if it escaped in New York because it’d get lost. That’s exactly what he does at the end of the film.

The movie has three parts, not just two, but the third part is so underdeveloped that it’s easy to forget. Colin Ferrell’s stock villain is Johnny Depp in disguise as a reheated Voldemort. Fantastic Beasts does such an awful job of setting this up that when I saw the big reveal, I didn’t make the connection that Depp was supposed to be Grindelwald. Barfed up news clippings and name drops didn’t clarify Depp’s appearance. When the time came, I wondered what an elderly Mortdecai was doing in the film.

Even though it’s burdened by exposition and populated with stock characters, Fantastic Beasts showed off some brilliant visuals. That’s not enough for me to like a film and that’s what most critics were saying about The Phantom Menace. Fantastic Beasts is almost that bad.

Thanks for reading.

The Flash: “Shade”

Jim’s Thoughts

“Shade” felt like a run-on sentence to me. I look at where it started and where it ended, and I know there was a much shorter path to that point. It’s not necessarily that anything was bad, it’s just that it seemed to drag its feet to fill the time and not drop its payload before the midseason finale.

As much as I like Joe as a character, I don’t care any more about his love life than those of Barry and Iris. At least Joe didn’t end his first date telling the woman he loved her. That would be in keeping with the pace of most romance arcs on The CW. I’m hoping there will be some sort of payoff to the main story, because West family drama dragged last season down enough.

Speaking of West family drama, I don’t think Wally’s story is doing what it hopes to. I understand the parallel stories between him and Caitlyn, but Wally is still a newer character. He’s not developed and I just can’t invest as much in what happens to him.

Cisco and Caitlyn has some nice scenes together, and I’m certainly interested to see what happens there. Of course, since we’ve already seen Killer Frost in Earth 2, it doesn’t carry quite the shock value it might otherwise have.

The real problem here is that the episode hinted at exactly what Kyle and I have been saying. Barry pondering the fact that going back in time was a mistake, and telegraphing his move to go back again and undo most of the season.

It wasn’t bad, but I’ve been saying that for a while now. It just wasn’t great, and I’ve been saying that too.

Kyle’s Take

“Shade” is a perfect example of what’s not working with Flash this season; this season’s story arc is a run-on sentence. As soon as we saw Caitlin with Killer Frost powers, we knew that ridding her of those powers would be the thing that would send Barry back in time and the rest of the season has been marking time—for two and a half months—until that happens. All this week’s Flash did was squash any lingering doubt Barry wouldn’t do the time warp.

I agree with Jim that Wally’s story falls flat and that Killer Frost doesn’t carry the shock value Flash wanted. Both problems could’ve been fixed if Flash had flipped the two characters’ arcs. We don’t care about Wally because he’s new and we don’t know him that well. We could’ve gained a better sense of who he is if he were granted powers at the beginning of this season and we saw him struggle with them or use his powers for different means than Barry. Also, we don’t worry about Wally turning into Kid Flash because, with the information we were given at the time, the only downside to Barry failing to stop Alchemy would be gaining another speedster sidekick. That’s not a true risk. If Team Flash was giving up Caitlin and the Flash villain Killer Frost, that would’ve built a tower of tension.

The only reason I can gather why Flash wanted Wally to be bait (instead of Caitlin) is that it introduces Savitar. This new villain can give speed and take it away (per the comics). We catch a glimpse of his powers for ten seconds, Flash gives us a money shot of the big baddie, and he says, “I am Savitar, God of Speed.” Ten seconds sums up this season’s character development.

I couldn’t invest in Wally’s “nightmares” because we weren’t shown the once and future metahumans struggle with Alchemy’s nightmares before “Shade.” Sure, Magenta told us she had nightmares before she gained her powers, but she’s an abused child. Those nightmares could’ve been from her foster dad’s beatings and when we were introduced to her, I attributed abuse as her nightmares’ origin.

I agree with Jim that Caitlin and Cisco had some great moments, and Detective West’s love story doesn’t do anything for me. The titular villain-of-the-week Shade was forgettable; he was nothing more than a decoy. I’d almost want to get hair plugs so I could pull out my hair when Flash does this little with its weekly villain.

I’ll echo Jim; “Shade” wasn’t a bad episode. As far as episodes this season, it’s better than most. Flash should continue to pick up as it heads closer to Killer Frost and Barry’s inevitable time and earth hopping.

Thanks for reading.

Supergirl: “Changing”

Kyle’s Thoughts

“Changing” introduced a classic Superman foe Parasite as its villain-of-the-week. Parasite is handled well. There were several nods to his classic look and even though he’s a weekly villain, there were some story threads that tied into Supergirl’s ongoing Cadmus arc, and that’s always a good thing.

For most of the episode Mon-El didn’t interest me. Supergirl shoved how much he’s Kara’s opposite down our throats. He’s more believable after his inevitable change of heart. Mon-El’s character arc would’ve had more of an impact if I didn’t know he’d turn “good” before the end of this episode. It’s also by-the-numbers to have Mon-El captured by the season’s big bad Cadmus. Didn’t Arrow do this with Wild Dog a couple weeks ago?

The Alex-Maggie love story ended abruptly, but it was a satisfying end that could have long-lasting results. Each time Supergirl showed Alex kiss Maggie it looked as if she was trying too hard, so it made sense that Alex had fallen for Maggie, while Maggie would view Alex as a friend. I like Supergirl’s choice to make them friends—for now because I’m sure we’ll cross another Alex loves Maggie bridge—until they build their relationship and Alex explores who she is. I’ve been on record as not being a huge fan of alter egos, but Supergirl drawing parallels between Kara hiding her Supergirl identity and Alex discovering her sexuality worked.

Jimmy Olsen’s turn as The Guardian still doesn’t work. Not every superhero show has to be a superhero team show, and Olsen moonlighting as a hero detracts from the Catco drama. I’d hate to see Kara’s struggles to be a legitimate reporter take a backseat to Jimmy playing hero. We’ve seen the struggling hero trope; we don’t get enough of a hero struggles for something more than beating up a weekly villain. In fact, Kara’s desire to be a good reporter gives her the impetus to maintain her alter ego.

I’m not sure how to take the Miss Martian-Martian Manhunter story thread. It appears that Miss Martian has feelings for J’onn J’onnz. Supergirl will have to explain how a white Martian that hunts green Martians with extreme prejudice would fall in love with a green Martian, but I can suspend disbelief until the show gives me a reason not to.

Overall “Changing” was a solid episode and a step up from last week’s faceless villain. While I like the huge web Cadmus is casting, I’d like to see that web take shape. I’m sure Supergirl will gain clarity by the midseason finale. Until then I’ll enjoy the strongest of the CW superhero shows this season.

Thanks for reading.

Arrow: “So It Begins”

Jim’s Thoughts

“So It Begins” finally gave us what I’ve been calling for. We returned to the Prometheus story. The result of that was probably the best episode of Arrow we’ve seen this season.

The callback to the first season with Ollie and his list drudged up more contrived feelings of guilt, and some forced animosity with the team. Having them call Ollie a “serial killer” sounds absurd considering these were people who supposedly had a hand in “the undertaking,” which killed a bunch of people in the glades (if I’m remembering correctly).

Quentin’s alcoholism battle just feels like a fill-in-the-blank storyline to keep him doing something on screen. There isn’t an emotional impact to it. That might be due to the lack of focus on it, but we’ve already seen this story, and it doesn’t do anything for the character. At this point, Lance is well past the show’s 20-minute-grief-limit. I mean, Ragman had his whole town nuked, and he’s doing okay for himself.

Guess what? I still hate Felicity, and I still resent every single moment devoted to her character. At this point, I’m worried her new human body pillow of a boyfriend will end up being Prometheus just because that’d be an infuriating way to give her more screen time. My only hope is that it’d be way too obvious. My money is actually on the DA.

The show had all the usual knocks against it, but the focus on Prometheus is good. That’s what will make the show interesting. My only hope at this point is that Flash going back in time will undo everything, but we’ll scream at that bridge when it’s time.

Kyle’s Take

I get that we haven’t reached the bridge that is Flashpoint yet, but it’s a Golden Gate Bridge of a plot device. Flashpoint is the most recognizable landmark and dominates the first half of this season.

Yes, we got more Prometheus, and that’s a good thing. Yes, we had a callout to Arrow’s first season, and that was fun, except that it’s a few seasons too late and convenient to have “The List” as the thing that would tear this new team apart. But Jim skipped over Arrow’s big dun-dun-dun moment at the end of “So It Begins,” and that could be because of rehashed storylines or the fact that nothing matters until after Flashpoint changes everything in a month or two.

Just in case you haven’t seen “So It Begins,” a spoiler alert is in order.

*Commence Spoilers*

Quentin Lance has the same wound Artemis gave Prometheus. The implication is that Lance gets blackout drunk and dons the Prometheus outfit after late night binges. That can’t be Arrow’s end game this season, so it’s either a clumsy Red Herring (I think the real Prometheus is the DA, too) and he’s being framed, or Lance is Prometheus until after the events of Flashpoint, and then we’ll get a new Prometheus (this could also be the DA). Regardless, Quentin’s alcoholism and Prometheus are linked until Arrow shows us otherwise.

*End Spoilers*

Arrow even suggesting that it’ll tie one of its reheated French Fries of a plotline to the main villain doesn’t make me happy. It’s been done, Arrow should move on from the plotline, but we’re stuck with it until it resolves. And, for those of you who didn’t read the spoiler section, that’s two major plot devices that are holding Arrow hostage.

Artemis (alter ego: Evelyn Sharp) is the newbie who took the most offense to Ollie as a “serial killer.” I’m not sure that she’s from the Undertaking. I thought she was the one who was a H.I.V.E. test subject, wore a blonde wig, and pretended to be a third Black Canary after Laurel died. It doesn’t matter. Artemis fell out of the sky and into the Arrowcave.

With Artemis filling the sidekick archer role, I’m not sure if Speedy will ever rejoin Team Arrow. But who knows? The rise of Artemis, Mon-El (in Supergirl) who is akin to Superboy (Kon-El in the comics), and Kid Flash could lead to a Young Justice live action series. I’d be down with Young Justice—it’s an ongoing comic and a solid animated series, which is available on Netflix—but if you’re going to include Robin, you’re going to have to admit that there’s a Batman.

Anyway. Let’s get back to Arrow. Even with all its issues, I enjoyed “So It Begins.” It feels like Arrow is picking a direction. I’m not sure if I agree with the direction, but it’s a start. I have hope for this season. I’d have even more hope if the show holds my interest after it crosses its Golden Gate Bridge.

Thanks for reading.

Supergirl: “Crossfire”

Kyle’s Thoughts

“Crossfire” offers some new love connections and a serviceable weekly villain. The biggest issue I had with this week’s Supergirl is its focus on budding romances. There’s a whopping three of them and while I understand romance can be a great element in a show, building three romances was a little overkill.

The villain-of-the-week was forgettable. They were thugs with alien weapons, but tying them to the season’s big bad Cadmus was a great touch. Sure, they’re weekly villains with little character development but they fleshed out the lengths Cadmus will go to discredit or defeat Supergirl. Alliances are taking shape that could provide some interesting twists and turns. We’re headed into spoiler territory if I say anything more. I’ll stop short and say that I’m digging Lena Luthor and Supergirl’s partnership. Those two could get into some trouble in the not so distant future.

A discussion of “Crossfire” isn’t complete without addressing its three growing romances. To be fair nothing too concrete has happened with these couplings, but it’s clear Supergirl plans to explore relationships between these characters. Full disclosure: I may be jaded when it comes to the CW and romance. I’ve seen this network tear down characters with all-consuming relationships. Likeable characters have turned to unwatchable jerks with the touch of one bad romance. Supergirl’s first season avoided romance for the most part, and I was grateful for that, but I knew the show would dip its toe in those waters, and the love connections Supergirl introduced could be interesting.

Kara and Mon-El are destined to be together—Winn and James (Jimmy) Olsen believe so and aren’t afraid to share their thoughts—but Supergirl has made them obvious polar opposites. Opposites attract, I get it, but the idea that these two are destined to be together makes me not want to root for them. I like both characters, so I’ll give them a chance.

Alex (Kara’s adopted sister) and Maggie’s growing relationship might have the most promise. Because Supergirl’s intended audience is younger than Arrow and Flash’s, I trust the show will handle this relationship with grace. It also helps that Alex is discovering who she is. We should see a nice character arc. The only issue I can foresee is that Supergirl could go the route of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and kill off a lesbian lovebird after a season. While Maggie’s death—Supergirl won’t kill off Alex—could fuel some interesting storylines, it’s a Hollywood cliché to kill one half of a happy, gay couple.

Winn and Lena Luthor are the third, surprising coupling. Okay, they aren’t a real couple; they were caught under a platform, saving the day, and other characters think something else was happening. I’m okay if this moment was a one off and Supergirl doesn’t make them a couple, but if the show chose to make Winn and Lena an item, they could be fun.

I know, that’s a lot of discussion about potential romances, but love was in the air in “Crossfire.” I’d be remiss to not mention one last point. This week’s Supergirl introduced the idea of James Olsen wanting to be a superhero. He needs to stop it. I like the fact that Supergirl has one main superhero and two superheroes (Superman and Martian Manhunter) who could chip in. Arrow and Flash suffer from bloated superhero ranks and I like Supergirl’s focus on Supergirl. It makes sense Jimmy wants to be a superhero—he was one for a time in the comics—but one of the few things the Arrowverse needs is more superheroes.

While not one of the season’s best outings, “Crossfire” is a solid episode. We’ll have to see how things shake out in the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading.