iZombie Review – “Patriot Brains”

Kyle’s Review

iZombie killed off a character in this week’s “Patriot Brains.” I won’t say who dies but the death makes for a compelling scene and sets a few things straight, sending iZombie into the home stretch with a good stride.

Per the better episodes of iZombie, we didn’t get much of Liv’s narrative voice, the week’s victim has an interesting backstory, and the abilities and neuroses Liv gained from the victim played well with both the mystery’s solution and the ongoing story lines. A lot came into focus and the slow boil of the zombie underground could make a good season finale.

I also liked that Liv’s love life will take a backseat. Perhaps we’ll see a slower build toward future zombie lovin’. If you’ve followed my iZombie reviews up to this point, you’ll know that I need a little time to wrap my brain around a zombie love story. I can get there but iZombie will have to work for it and “Patriot Brains” put in a lot of work this week.

Orphan Black Review – “Newer Elements of Our Defense”

Kyle’s Review

“Newer Elements of Our Defense” continued the entangled genetics of the male and female clones with delicious results. This week’s Orphan Black ended with a cliffhanger, so I won’t be able to go into too much detail, but believe me when I say you won’t be disappointed and if you haven’t been following Orphan Black, “Newer Elements of Our Defense” would be a difficult entry point.

Orphan Black found a way to give all the main clones – both male and female – even screen time. That doesn’t happen in most episodes – it may have never happened in a single episode – and it’s nice to see here. We pick up where we left off last week with Sarah in a cornfield with Mark, who’s bleeding out. They dance a Tango of I don’t trust you and we’re family all the way to unearthing something every organization on Orphan Black has been looking for since the first episode. I won’t spoil the surprise but the two clones were good dancing partners and their little dance factors into the show’s cliffhanger.

As for the rest of the clones, they filled certain roles for a well-rounded episode. Cosima give us our romantic angle as she moves on from Delphine and hits the dating scene. Allison has great comedic timing with her bumbling husband and they give us a break from the heavier scenes. But Helena shows off her stealth abilities. While Sarah delivered some great psychological thrills, Helena had the physical thrills on lock down.

After a slow start, Orphan Black has reached its stride with this week’s “Newer Elements of Our Defense.”

Grimm Review – “Headache”

Kyle’s Review

“Headache” brought Renard’s story arc to an abrupt end but continued the build with the Juliette/Adalind’s child storyline. It’s clear that Juliette and the royal baby will drive Grimm into its finale but I was disappointed that Grimm tossed the Renard story so quickly.

Let’s get something straight, I was never as invested in the Renard story but that’s because Grimm did nothing with the arc and then things escalated too much two episodes ago. And now, it’s over. This was a missed opportunity. Grimm could’ve weaved Renard’s story into the web of the other ongoing arcs, but there should’ve been more repercussions. As it stands, folks will forget this arc happened over the summer.

The other threads fared much better. Juliette may have taken her villainy to a place where she can’t return. I’m good with that if Grimm commits to Juliette as a big nasty. My fear is that they’ll find some false way to get her back to the character she was before this season. I’d be ticked if this happens but until that does, I’m liking the darker Juliette and I’m liking the royal baby (toddler?) story a lot more. Despite suffering from the same fate as the Renard story (Grimm forgot about it for a while), the royal baby story was integrated a lot better than Renard’s.

The last nit I’ll pick is Nick’s mom’s severed head in a box. Did Grimm have to copy Se7en? And there’s a reason why we never saw Gwyneth Paltrow’s head, it would look fake and some things are better left to the viewer’s imagination.

Bob’s Burgers Review – “Housetrap”

Kyle’s Review

Even when the jokes fall flat, Bob’s Burgers gives us some of the craziest, comedic scenarios. “Housetrap” takes some time with the setup but delivers one of Bob’s Burgers’ best.

We knew we were in for a wild one when Teddy takes his burger to go—usually, Bob has to drag Teddy out of the restaurant. Then we leave the Belcher’s run-down burger joint and home for a posh, sea-side mansion. Teddy has been tasked to make repairs but the Belchers crash the house as only the Belchers can. The main course begins once we make it to the mansion.

You’ve gotta love it whenever Louise fuels Linda’s paranoia. Teddy has fallen in love with the widow, Helen, who hired him for the mansion repairs, and Linda believes that Helen pushed her husband off a widow’s walk. Things go nuclear fast. Linda, with the help of Louise, concocts an elaborate backstory for Helen and she reenacts the murder by pushing Bob and throwing out his back. Now, the Belchers are trapped in the mansion when Teddy and Helen escape the rain and enter the home’s living room to find Bob on the couch.

It doesn’t matter whether or not Helen killed her husband (signs point to yes) because It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Katilin Olson tears into her unbalanced character with glee. Helen is chipper one moment and malevolent the next. Punctuated with sinister music and an unsettling sense of humor, Olson’s Helen is the best guest voice actor Bob’s Burgers has had in a while. We also get treated to a medicated Bob – always funny – trying to keep his friend Teddy’s chances with Helen alive, while Linda and Louise tear the two apart because they don’t want Teddy to date a killer. Both sides want what’s best for Teddy and the execution is flawless. This is one of the best Bob’s Burgers episodes this season.

The Flash Review – “Grodd Lives”

Kyle’s Review

“Grodd Lives” delivered on the psychic, super-intelligent gorilla front but The Flash fell short in a lot of other ways this week. The acting was over-the-top for many of the characters but none were as onion-strong as Iris. She channeled her inner Season One Laurel.

I get the angle The Flash took (with Iris), even though I wonder how it took her this long to figure out that everyone was lying to her, but her tears were larger than her eyes, and I’d believe her getting an echo of the alternate timeline (when Cisco died), giving credence to Cisco’s timeline echoes, before I believe her figuring out Barry’s identity by means of static electricity. I shared (visible and audible) static electricity with my wife Jen before, so she must be The Flash. She’s hidden her identity so well. I suggested Iris figuring out Barry’s secret by means of a timeline echo last week because I wanted to trust The Flash’s writer’s room. Thanks for upholding that trust, guys. This was far worse.

Going beyond the painful choices above, we were treated to a lot of bizarre choices. Why would the Central City Police Department have the Ice Cream Truck (that secretly held gold bullion) play its music? I’d think Detective West would’ve pictured children walking up to the disguised, armored van ahead of time. And humans can survive two months without food? I get that Wells is from the future – and this might be possible – but humans have been on this planet for millennia and we haven’t evolved to the point where we no longer need nourishment. Mahatma Gandhi once survived 21 days without food but that’s a far cry from two months. This sounds like the staff didn’t realize how long humans can live without sustenance.

But the meaty part of “Grodd Lives” was Grodd himself. I loved how Grodd played out, even if I question our last glimpse of him in this episode. Grodd can be a very goofy character, but The Flash has done a great job with their special effects, and this week was no exception.

Verdict:

“Grodd Lives” gave us the psychic gorilla goods but some of The Flash’s other elements fell a bit flat.

If you didn’t catch our Flash–Arrow Spin-Off preview, here’s the link.

Not enough Flash. Zoom to our Flash secrets page.

Arrow Review – “This Is Your Sword”

Kyle’s Review

Arrow showed its hand with “This Is Your Sword,” the episode just before the season finale, and the results were mixed. Let’s start with the positives: I liked the action with Katana, for the most part, the team reassembling – to include Ray – was nice, the flashbacks continued to weave into the present day story arc better than it did earlier in the season, and we got to see Roy (more on him in our secrets page).

Unfortunately, the weaker elements outweighed the positives. Arrow did intend for Ollie to take down Ra’s, which like I said last week, demeans the Ra’s Al Ghul character. Merlyn, in turn, betrayed Ollie—perhaps. This could go one of two directions, either this is a double bluff by Ollie and Merlyn (the more likely of the two options), or Merlyn proved to be the weasel he’s been for the better part of three seasons. I like it when characters grow, so I’m partial to the former of these two options. Regardless, there’s no way the Alpha/Omega disease was used on Team Arrow, sans Ollie and Katana.

Getting back to Katana’s action, I didn’t like how some of her fighting moves looked like she was ballet-cizing. I know that most fight scenes incorporate dance, but she looked ridiculous at times. Still, you’ve gotta love Katana in her full costume and the moment when she takes Maseo’s life felt earned. Those were nice touches.

The waters are less murky for Arrow and that’s okay because there are still some twists and turns that have yet to present themselves. I hope that Arrow can end this season on a high note, while maintaining the integrity of the Ra’s Al Ghul character. We’ll have to see what happens next week.

Verdict:

“This Is Your Sword” was an action-packed episode of Arrow that revealed enough goods, to explain some of Arrow’s writer’s room choices, while keeping a few things close to the vest, so that there’s something left for the season finale.

We cover the upcoming Flash-Arrow Spin-Off with this preview.

Need more Arrow? Head to our Arrow secrets page.

iZombie Review – “Dead Air”

Kyle’s Review

“Dead Air” continued iZombie’s slow build of a zombie underworld and saw the return of a reasonable solution to the weekly mystery. I like how the zombie police lieutenant runs interference for Blaine’s criminal brain harvesting – that makes sense – and how that makes his job difficult. He mentions that hiding several bodies is a logistical nightmare and warns Blaine that he has to be more discrete. The loose ends the brain trade present should come to a head in just enough time for iZombie’s season finale, but the zombie romance story arc may have caught a snag.

I’m still not on board with a zombie romance – iZombie needs to distance itself from Warm Bodies – so the romantic snag in “Dead Air” was welcome for me. Liv doesn’t know if her relationship with the zombie hunk is anything more than just physical. I’m surprised she hasn’t questioned it before now. She hopped into bed with this guy after one episode (one week) and the two characters’ lives didn’t intersect before zombification. I smiled when Liv asked, “Would we even know each other if we didn’t become zombies?” I would answer, no, and while I would prefer no zombie romance, I’ll give one a chance if iZombie takes the time to develop one, but romance isn’t the only thing iZombie developed this week.

Major’s crusade to find justice for his charges blows up in his face time and time again, Dr. Chakrabarti (Liv’s boss at the mortuary) asks out Liv’s childhood friend Peyton, and there was a nice cliffhanger –something iZombie doesn’t do a lot of – at the end of “Dead Air” that should make things interesting.

Verdict:

“Dead Air” was a return to form for iZombie with the zombie underworld brewing in a delightful way.

Orphan Black Review – “Formalized, Complex, and Costly”

Kyle’s Review

Orphan Black’s male and female clones are more entangled than we first thought and the two genders are on the prowl for the original clone DNA. “Formalized, Complex, and Costly” sheds enough light on some questions so that twice as many new questions take their place but the show shines with its continued success of weaving multiple storylines.

Mark and Gracie, on-the-lam, pursue new leads to find the DNA samples that will cure both the males and females. At the same time, Cosima and Scott learn as much as they can about the male clone’s biology, which led to the revelation about the males and females as kin, while Alison is on the campaign trail and business/politics are looking good. Art finally joins the exclusive Clone Club and that causes a much needed link to Toronto, Canada. With Helen abroad and the rest of the clones spread out across the winds, it’s nice to have an anchor like Art. Rest assure that the show ends with a deadly showdown (no spoilers) and we get a cliffhanger that demands you to watch next week.

I’m amazed at how well Orphan Black can show enough of each member of its large cast to keep me vested in them. “Formalized, Complex, and Costly” gave me enough info to whet my appetite but it also keeps enough shrouded that I’ll be back for more.

Verdict:

Despite the second set of clones slowing down the narrative by a hair, Orphan Black continues with a strong third season.

Bob’s Burgers Review – “Eat, Spray, Linda”

Kyle’s Review

Ordinarily, I’d say that going from a Gene-centric story last week to a Linda-centric story this week would be too much – they’re two of the shallowest characters on Bob’s Burgers – but “Eat, Spray, Linda” overcame its Linda-ness. This Linda-driven story broke away from her need to be a star and focused on a woman worried about growing old. This not only served as a good divergence from the usual, it gave some insight as to why Linda would want to be a star: she’s afraid of her own mortality.

That last line may have been an overstatement but at the very least, “Eat, Spray, Linda” humanized Linda. She went through the ringer – in typical sitcom fashion – this episode and the rest of the family learned a lot about her. Linda may not have the glamorous life she envisions but she still lives an interesting one. Plus, Linda, according to one of this week’s songs, “BMs in the PM.”

That might have been too much information but it’s these windows into these characters (maybe not the bathroom window) that makes Bob’s Burgers a joy and if you follow Bob’s Burgers, you’ll enjoy “Eat, Spray, Linda.”

Grimm Review – “You Don’t Know Jack”

Kyle’s Review

Grimm traded the weekly Wesen for introducing a yarn about Jack the Ripper. I hope this story has deeper roots instead of a just a ploy to introduce the famous serial killer. A couple of weeks ago, Renard made the comment that “most of the world’s crimes involve Wesen.” I groaned at that unbelievable statement then but pinning Jack the Ripper on a Wesen goes a little far. Still, if one of the show’s regulars has a link with these killings, I might be more inclined to accept this story, but like other weeks before it, this week’s strength rests with the ongoing arcs, namely Adalind’s pregnancy and Juliette going off the deep end.

I’m a little standoffish toward Adalind playing house – of sorts – with Nick. She’s been the antagonist for the better part of three seasons and it’s difficult to see her in any other role but it makes sense that she’d be willing to help Nick and company as much as she can. She’s protected her own hide for years and she’s gotten good at it. Nick is trapped between safeguarding Adalind and their unborn child and Juliette, the woman that he thought was the love of his life. Grimm has played up the conflicted Nick – David Giuntoli as Nick isn’t as subtle as Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen – but the stakes are high and you can see why Nick would want to side with both women in his life. Juliette has made it more and more difficult to side with her. I won’t go into any detail and drop spoilers but she may have crossed a line at the end of “You Don’t Know Jack” of which there is no return. Kudos to Grimm if they commit to this darker path but something tells me that they won’t.

The Renard storyline doesn’t interest me that much but if he’s involved in the Jack the Ripper arc somehow, I could get invested in the story. Nick’s mom (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) should make another appearance and that’s always a good sign, and all of these story arc noodles are getting tied together, making that final push for a solid finale.