Supergirl: “Distant Sun”

Kyle’s Thoughts

“Distant Sun” spent another week focusing on Mon-El, his family, and his relationship with Kara. It’s a step up from last week’s “Star-Crossed” because it gave Supergirl agency, but that’s not saying much. Mon-Kara has taken too much airtime in the middle of the season. I may be in the minority but Supergirl has pushed too hard for this relationship. There were other forces at play this week—specifically Linda Carter (the President) confirmed as an alien with some plan for Supergirl—but these other forces were background noise. Romance drenches most CW shows and “Distant Sun” was a typical CW episode.

While Mon-Kara doesn’t interest me, Sanvers (Alex and Maggie) continues to excel. Supergirl has done a good job of exploring these characters. This week’s episode took another angle of how deep Maggie’s family trauma has affected her prior relationships. “Distant Sun” wrapped up things a little too neat—I would’ve preferred Maggie spending more time parsing through her emotions—but it’s a side story and a good one. Too bad Mon-Kara doesn’t know it’s a side story.

The guest stars on “Distant Sun” would make a fantastic comic book convention guest list. Linda Carter (Wonder Woman), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), and Teri Hatcher (Lois and Clark) could make any fanboy or fangirl drool. And Kevin Smith (Clerks and Dogma) directed. Again, I’m not the biggest Kevin Smith fan, but “Distant Sun” has some serious geek cred. Still, I wished less of an emphasis was given to Mon-Kara.

Even though there was a lot of attention given to one of the least interesting story threads (Jimmy Olsen as Guardian would be another story thread vying for the top spot), what happens at the episode’s end between Mon-El’s parents could redeem the Mon-Kara saga. Mon-El rebelling against his parents was manufactured tension; Rhea (Hatcher) doubling down to reclaim her son is still manufactured tension but it could be interesting.

There’s not a lot more to say about “Distant Sun.” It wasn’t the big sendoff I was looking for in an episode prior to an extended break (Supergirl won’t return until late April), but it did a nice job of reintroducing Linda Carter’s character and adding a twist to Mon-El’s mother Rhea.

Thanks for reading.

Legion: “Chapter 7”

Kyle’s Thoughts

“Chapter 7” was another stellar episode of Legion. This is the cure for the common super hero show. I should’ve seen where the show was headed, there were plenty of clues, and Legion gave David’s parasite a name: Amahl Farouk. Farouk is better known as Shadow King.

I should’ve recognized that face. I read my cousin’s New Mutant comics at the pool house. I should’ve recognized the obese monster as Farouk/Shadow King.

I’ve always liked the Shadow King. Yes, he’s another overpowered X-Men character, but he served as a good foil for any and every psychic powered mutant, and that may be why I don’t view him as that overpowered. The reason Farouk targets psychic powered mutants is because he lives on the astral plane and can’t take physical form unless he possesses a mutant host, which is exactly what Farouk does in Legion.

Farouk was the first villain Professor X faced. Prior to his tussle with the Shadow King, Charles Xavier didn’t think any mutant would use their powers against mankind. So, in an odd way, Shadow King was responsible for the X-Men. He hasn’t been portrayed in a live-action show or film because most live-action X-Men stories reside on the physical plane. Ah, but David and Oliver can travel the astral plane. Legion is a perfect show to introduce the insidious Shadow King.

Okay. Maybe “insidious Shadow King” was too Stan Lee. Anyway, Legion shook up Shadow King’s origin. Farouk started as Professor X’s enemy. That stayed the same. (Yes, there was a hint at Professor X in “Chapter 7.”) He resurfaced in The New Mutants (the comic that first featured Legion) but he targeted a powerful psychic mutant Karma. She had the power to project her consciousness into another person, a power similar to the one David’s girlfriend Syd has in the show. It wasn’t until the 90s when Shadow King turned his attention to David, and they’ve had plenty of showdowns on the astral plane since.

I probably said too much about Shadow King; there’s plenty more to discuss. The moment when Cary rescues Syd from her slumber and wanted to share his and Oliver’s escape plan was rushed, but in a good way. Having psychic powers, Syd questioned her surroundings in “Chapter 6.” The rushed dialogue was a nice touch of levity. Speaking of levity, any scene with Oliver is a fun scene, and he stole plenty of them this week. It was a great character moment for Melanie Bird waking up to her husband preparing breakfast and telling stories to the other mutants; she yearned for that moment of normalcy, even if it was short lived.

There are so many other moments I could add, the least of which is David’s lecture with his rational self, but I don’t want to include too many spoilers. Legion could have a lot of fun with Shadow King in future seasons. I could also see the show go a different direction. Regardless, Legion is appointment television. Too bad there’s only one more episode left this season.

Season’s Take

Legion has done an amazing job this week. It took me a while to recognize Farouk as Shadow King (I was reminded) but he’s one of the few X-men villains who poses a challenge for David. He’s an excellent choice.

When David was discussing with his rational self how Farouk entered his mind he mentioned that his father was the mutant in his family who defeated Farouk. It’s odd how he came to that conclusion with nothing to go on. I’m going to give him a pass since it’s a minor detail.

Oliver making a reappearance in “Chapter 7” made for some fun moments. I found myself laughing when he was talking with Cary and sharing stories. He has a way of lightening the mood.

There were many incredible moments in “Chapter 7” this week. I’m looking forward to the eighth and final episode of Season 1 next week.

Thanks for reading.

Arrow: Kapiushon

Jim’s Thoughts

“Kapiushon” is going to make me sound like a complete Grinch. I honestly don’t have any positives to offer. It has a lot of the same old issues, but with the added problem of turning Oliver Queen into Dexter Morgan. For those who never saw Dexter, it’s a show about a crime scene investigator who deals with his psychological issues by finding people who escape justice and killing them. I really don’t think the writers understand how these flashbacks are changing the character and making him an impossible figure to root for.

The show has been stealing Batman’s struggle with his “no kill” rule for several seasons, so this episode never even had the chance to offer something new. It’s exploration of “morality” is tired here, and it bored me.

I could go on, but it’s more of the same. If this show is going to be a Dexter clone, I’ll just leave it at this. I quit watching Dexter about three seasons in.

Flash: “Duet”

Kyle’s Thoughts

Jim skipped “Duet” because it was Flash’s musical episode. I wasn’t thrilled about a musical episode either and should’ve passed on the episode too.

The Music Meister is a forgettable Brave and the Bold cartoon series villain but this show colors him as a pseudo-Cupid. I can hear Jim groan and he didn’t even watch “Duet.” Yes. Love took centerstage because it needs to in every CW series and any manufactured tension stemming from said romantic entanglements, in Flash and Supergirl, were undone in forty minutes. I’d sing and dance if I thought these shows wrung out the schmaltz, but it’s the CW. I’m sure they’ll concoct an asinine love story next week.

“Duet” shoehorns Barry’s love of musicals, Singin’ in the Rain specifically, as the reason the world he’s zapped into is a musical one. It even tries to rewrite Kara as a Wizard of Oz aficionado. It’s not like these two things couldn’t be true but it’s convenient, and the show crams a lot of backstory into ten-fifteen minutes. The CW should be honest. Melissa Benoist (Supergirl) and Grant Gustin (Flash) are Glee alums and the network wanted to cash in on their connection with fellow Glee cast member Darren Criss (Music Meister). “Duet” did a good job as a Glee reunion but it did little else well.

Music Meister didn’t serve as a good villain. He absorbed Supergirl and Flash’s powers and pretends to go on a crime spree. I say pretends to go on a crime spree because Martian Manhunter, Kid Flash, and Cisco capture him far too easy, lock him up, and he escapes Star Labs’ holding cell like it’s no big deal. What was his purpose? The power of love?

Sure. There were plenty of great songs, one cringe-worthy “Super Friends” song, and Jesse L Martin (Joe West) showed his Rent-worthy singing chops, but the show focused on the weakest part of its story: romance.

I might be in the minority. Glee has a lot of fans, and I watched it for a short while too, but I’m not sure how much overlap Glee and Flash fans would share on a Vin Diagram. It appears folks who would never watch the Flash tuned into “Duet,” while long-time fans skipped the episode. I don’t think we’ll see too many more musical episodes, so any new fans may be disappointed with Flash if they stick around. But who knows? Maybe this ploy will work.

My only hope is that both Supergirl and Flash will give romance a rest and focus on another aspect of their respective stories. I doubt that will happen.

Thanks for reading.

Oh, I forwarded Jim a video of the “Super Friend” song. Misery loves company. Share my pain, buddy. “I’m your Super Friend.” I would’ve been more impressed if Ollie was singing.

Supergirl: “Star-Crossed”

Kyle’s Thoughts

“Star-Crossed” is uneven. It suffers from leaning too heavily on romance, something I don’t care for in CW shows, and it doesn’t qualify as a Supergirl episode. Kara is nothing more than jaded lover.

That sounds too negative. This week’s Supergirl had some good developments and let’s start with some of those. I like how Winn’s whirlwind romance bit him in the butt. Supergirl is a CW show so while I questioned how quickly Winn fell in love with Lyra, I wrote it off as standard CW storytelling. To have Lyra backstab Winn was a nice touch. It caught me off guard. Of course, she was a “good girl turned bad” and genuinely cared for Winn. Once her brother was rescued, she committed herself to Winn. Her betrayal was little more than small speedbump. Still, it was different.

Most of this week’s Supergirl’s action involved Winn-Lyra. Guardian and the DEO chipped in with saving Lyra’s brother and capturing an intergalactic art smuggler. It’s a silly story but I could’ve been more invested if Guardian wasn’t a part of the action. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t like Jimmy Olsen as a hero. Sure, it happened from time to time in the comics, but I’d rather see Jimmy as Kara’s friend. I consider this half of the story as mostly a win. The DEO has been sitting around their headquarters, letting Kara do all the work. It was nice seeing them take charge.

Kara’s half of the story didn’t work at all for me, even though he had plenty of geek cred. Kara finds out that her beau Mon-El isn’t just from Daxam, he’s the daxamite prince. His parents, Queen Rhea (Lois and Clark’s Teri Hatcher) and King Lar Gand (Hercules’ Kevin Sorbo) want him to return to Daxam. Make Daxam great again. Yes. They coined Trump’s campaign slogan. Daxam is known for its cruel treatment of the lower 95 percent. That couldn’t possibly be construed as political. Topical political issues aside, Kara’s story didn’t work because of manufactured tension.

Kara was okay with Mon-El being a regular Joe from Daxam. As soon as she found out he was part of the upper 5%, she dumped him. Supergirl has been playing footsie with Mon-Kara for most of the season, and when Kara learns the truth, their relationship is done. Okay. I get that Kara feels betrayed. But ever since his third or fourth episode, Mon-El hasn’t been defending Daxam. I should’ve seen this coming. Kara made a comment earlier this year to the effect of “at least you’re not Daxam royalty, they’re jerks.” Well, he is, and Kara goes back to hating Mon-El. I’m okay with Kara wanting space for half the episode but even after she has time to think things over, she doesn’t forgive Mon-El, despite his actions showing he wants to change. I’m sure Kara will forgive Mon-El, but this was manipulative.

“Star-Crossed” had some good aspects but the Mon-Kara story felt like filler, or at least fluffing a storyline to pad an episode or two. Hopefully, things will get ironed out in the next episode and Supergirl will get back on track.

Thanks for reading.

Bob’s Burgers: “The Grand Mama-Pest Hotel”

Season’s Thoughts

I said last week that I’m ready for a Tina episode and I got one this week. Well, a Tina and Linda episode. “The Grand Mama-Pest Hotel” delivers great character building.

Tina and Linda don’t spend a lot of time together in most Bob’s Burgers episodes. It was enjoyable to see the two of them bond this week after Linda embarrasses her daughter on more than one occasion. Watching Linda go to great lengths to get Tina to spend time with her shows how afraid she is of causing a rift in their relationship.

Louise and Gene throwing Bob a bachelor party was funny. I liked watching the kids and Teddy jam out in the living room while Bob sat on the couch. Watch your apple juice intake.

For the past few weeks, Bob Belcher has been the main character in the side stories. I like seeing the show take its time developing the other characters and am looking forward to future episodes.

Kyle’s Take

I’m not the biggest Linda fan. There were plenty of cringe-worthy moments but those are the moments Linda excels and at least she’s thinking of her daughter growing up and distant, and not of herself. So, I can soldier through Linda dressing in a bikini shirt and pink camo bandana to sneak into a hotel. I can also forgive her for pulling idiotic pranks to be the “cool mom.” For once, Linda’s relatable while she goes full Linda.

Bob’s Burgers has mined Tina growing up a few times, leaving her parents behind, so “The Grand Mama-Pest Hotel” didn’t cover new ground. Still, I like it when the show roots its episode in the characters and this week did that. It’s a solid episode in a good season. I’m okay with Bob taking center stage for side stories, especially if we’re treated to Gene dancing with underwear on his head. We need more apple juice benders.

There were a few cameos, like Mr. Frond, Dillon (Linda’s new friend her age), and Dillon’s mother. Frond was little more than a prop but Dillon and her mother illustrated Linda’s fear. Bob’s Burgers fans should know Tina would never shun her mother, no matter how ridiculous she gets, but Dillon and her mother made Linda’s fear believable, even if it was only for ten minutes. Come on, it’s Tina.

Thanks for reading.

Iron Fist

Jim’s Thoughts

I’ve watched the first three episodes of Marvel’s new Netflix series, Iron Fist. I caught blurbs from some of the early reviews, all of which were surprisingly negative for a Marvel production, but I wanted to give it a shot for myself. My hot take on it is this: Iron Fist isn’t a bad show, it’s just mediocre.

There isn’t just one problem with the show, but there is one massive one, and it’s that I don’t really know what Danny Rand (the main character) wants. He’s back in New York after being missing and presumed dead since he was ten years old. Why is he back in New York now? There’s some mention that the dimensional rift he went through only opens every fifteen years, so yes, there’s that, but why come back to New York? He says he doesn’t want money. He doesn’t seem to want to run his parents’ company. The question is put to him directly more than once, and he never answers it.

At some point, Danny mentions he is the sworn enemy of The Hand. That’s great if you’ve followed the other Marvel shows. It gives you some idea of how Iron Fist will fit in to Marvel’s small screen universe, but is he hunting The Hand in New York? He doesn’t seem to be. A “sworn enemy” usually makes hunting down their enemies a priority, but Danny is in no hurry to do anything but try to talk to the Meachem family, who he regarded as siblings despite the fact that none of them were ever particularly kind to him.

Speaking of the Meachem family, they’re the only ones driving the story so far. They aren’t well developed. Just think random corporate bad guys and you’ll have a pretty good idea what you’re dealing with. Yes, they’re obviously up to some master plan, but the show is in no hurry to explain it. The family patriarch, who is supposed to have died from cancer, is in league with The Hand. To what end, who knows? Danny doesn’t seem to know anything about it, otherwise his obsession with the family and his presence in New York would have some explanation, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

The performances here are nothing to write home about. The fight scenes are few and far between, but when they do happen, they aren’t very impressive anyway. Part of that is that they don’t seem to be using a stunt double for Danny because the actor isn’t under a mask and they don’t want to CGI his face over someone else’s. What that means are a lot of cuts in action sequences and brawls that look a little like the old Adam West Batman TV show where people wait politely for their turn to attack and are careful not to move too fast.

You might think I’m being unfair only three episodes in, but I would suggest to you that a show shouldn’t need three episodes to get going. I may finish the series bit by bit over time, but this show isn’t worth binge watching, and may not be worth much of a look at all. If I weren’t worried about missing a setup for other shows down the road, I’d skip it without a thought.

Kyle’s Take

I only caught the first two episodes before I had to stop. I’m not even sure why Danny fought to survive the Himalayas. Yes. Most living things want to stay alive and that works for a real-world answer, but that doesn’t spin a good story in some cases, especially when the story is about a guy who travels back to New York to presumably fight crime.

Arrow’s Ollie wanted to correct his and his father’s wrongs. Iron Man’s Tony Stark fought for his life in order to keep his family’s weapons out of the wrong hands. Danny only offers that he had to survive. Why? Besides the obvious answer of living’s usually better than dying, why did he want to survive? He lost his family, not to some act of crime like Bruce Wayne and he must combat said crime, he lost them because of a freak accident. Or at least that’s what I’ve seen through two episodes. I think Danny said something about a cover-up but I wrote that off to expositional dialogue. I don’t much care for that. There’s nothing to suggest someone was responsible for the Rand family’s death but I’m sure Iron Fist will shoehorn some reason.

And that’s the biggest problem with this series so far. I’m sure all this will lead to something but the show should’ve started closer to where the chief conflict is revealed. I’ll eventually get around to watching Iron Fist, for fear of missing something in the Marvel/Netflix universe, but the show hasn’t held my interest.

Thanks for reading.

Legion: “Chapter 6”

Kyle’s Thoughts

“Chapter 6” fleshed out David’s inner conflict. Up to this point Lenny/Benny/unknown powerful mutant had little agency. He/she was the boogie man, dead best friend, or David’s dealer. He/she crept in the shadows of David’s subconscious. “Chapter 6” showed the unwanted visitor’s desires. He/she wants power and they don’t care if David’s psyche dies in the process. This conflict is unique. It’s a conflict only a show like Legion can explore.

David is at best an unreliable narrator or point of view character. “Chapter 6” ripped any ideas viewers had of who he was and shredded them. At times, I thought David was behind warping he and his friends to the astral plane, they were about to die in a hail of bullets, but the unknown mutant inside of David took charge. But how much control over David does the intruder possess? “Chapter 6” suggests he/she assumed complete control, but I’m not so sure. I also love the image of the Ophicordyceps (zombie ant fungus) and how it relates to David and the being inside him. Powerful.

Legion continues to take its time with its secondary and tertiary characters. I’m okay with that. David is not only the main character; his head space is one of the series’ locations. Having the rest of the cast trapped inside David’s corner of the astral plane allowed for them to express their fears and desires in vivid detail.

Melinda Bird yearns for her husband. She’s shown that in the past but “Chapter 6” puts a fine point on it and we see her wanting to nurture wildlife, much like she does for wayward mutants. Cary and Kerry express their desire to be close to each other. Even though they don’t share the same body, they prefer each other’s company to anyone else’s. Ptonomy’s past is more bleak than I’d imagine. His powers came with a huge price. And The Eye (District 3’s stooge) could have some legs as a worthy adversary, not that David needs one. The Eye has a special layer of creep.

Legion exhibits tight writing, excellent acting, and stunning visuals. It’s a joy to watch this quiet hurricane.

Season’s Take

Seeing the other characters express themselves in this chapter of Legion was nice. “Chapter 6” brought light to what’s going on both inside of David’s head and the heads of the others.

Spoiler warning: Legion revealed at the end of “Chapter 6” that Cary was the man in the atmospheric diving suit instead of Oliver Bird. That is, he was in front of Syd. Maybe it was Oliver in the suit in front of Melinda then Cary later in the episode. I’d like to see an exchange between Oliver and Cary to figure out why they decided to switch.

The Eye is as creepy as ever and he’s connected to Lenny/Benny in some way. He/she suggested that The Eye understands them and their thirst for power. They may have an understanding of some sort but Lenny/Benny may be using it as a mask for manipulating The Eye. Then again, The Eye could be acting on his own volition.

Every episode of Legion answers as many questions as it poses but that’s what makes it fun. It’s going to be hard waiting for ten months for a new season after “Chapter 8” airs.

Thanks for reading.

Arrow: “Checkmate”

Jim’s Thoughts

“Checkmate” is another Arrow episode I’d probably file under the heading of “It was watchable.” The showdown with Adrian Chase/Prometheus asked a lot in terms of suspension of disbelief. Seeing everyone with their quiet standoffs around City Hall rang false. I don’t believe anyone handled those situations the way they (or anyone) actually would, and Oliver is an idiot for not realizing he was handing along a death sentence to anyone he brought that evidence to, but the show moved forward, and that was something.

Speaking of sentencing people to death, Chase killing his wife was another thing Oliver should have seen coming. In fact, the Oliver we’ve been shown for five seasons would have, and that makes these scenes not work.

Keeping with the theme of things people should see coming, Felicity’s work with Helix also falls in that category. This “hacktivist” group is clearly not “grass roots.” They’ve got resources that dwarf Team Arrow by her own admission. Who does Felicity think is funding this? The answer will undoubtedly be some shady villainous organization, and I’ll be right back to saying she should have seen it coming. I’ve already turned on Felicity’s character, and her selective stupidity isn’t helping.

I liked seeing Mr. Terrific continue to develop his T-Spheres. It’s making him a more competent member of the team, and it’s digging into the comics source material.

The Russian flashbacks have been duds most of the season, and they weren’t great this week, but they are doing something that gives me a little hope. The tie-in with Talia Al Ghul is forced, but it does bring the show back to Ra’s in season 3. It was a better show then, and bridging back to that point could help the show regain momentum that was sacrificed at the altar of terrible romance (Felicity).

At this point, I’d say I’m doing some wishful thinking. Even if Arrow does delve back into the League of Assassins and memories of its better days, there’s no guarantee they’ll do a good job of it, but I’ll take a reason to hope for now.

Kyle’s Take

Jim’s spot on with the flashbacks, Chase killing his wife, Felicity, and the standoffs around City Hall. None of that storytelling worked for the various reasons he mentioned. I also liked seeing Mr. Terrific becoming something adjacent to the hero he should be. He’s at least more competent.

“Checkmate” was a watchable episode. It had Arrow’s usual shortcomings but it also fell flat in an area I never expected Arrow to fall flat: production value. The CW has done an admirable job with a small budget. Up to this point, Jim and I have accused the CW of neglecting the Arrowverse’s original show from a writing/storytelling standpoint, but the big showdown between Ollie and Chase this week featured sinfully fake sugar glass windows and walls of butcher paper.

I belly laughed when I saw these poorly constructed props in action. The entire sugar glass window pane shattered into powder; there wasn’t a single shard. Ollie and Chase could’ve been jumping through a poster held up by cheerleaders at the big game, instead of leaping through a wall, composed of two layers of drywall. Has Arrow stopped caring?

It’s as if the show wanted us to see these terrible props. Time slowed for the flying sugar powder and paper thin wall, and no one thought to digitally edit the scene so it wouldn’t look fake or perhaps, speed up the scene so it wasn’t as obvious. Is the CW’s entire special effects budget going to the other three shows?

If “Checkmate’s” production is any indication, Arrow is that shopping mall that used to be the one everyone visited until three new malls opened down the street. Look closely and you can make out a former Circuit City, Borders, and Kay Bee Toy Store.

I like Arrow. The second season is still the best, but season three was passable. Bringing back the League of Assassins will remind me of better times but that doesn’t always work. RadioShack aired Eighties-era commercials, reminiscent of their glory days, just before they went bankrupt. Ultimately, Arrow must give us a good product.

Thanks for reading.

Flash: “Into the Speed Force”

Jim’s Thoughts

“Into the Speed Force” gave us a glorified clip show and a lot more contrived nonsense. There’s probably a nicer way to put that, but I’m disinclined to grasp for it.

I can only imagine the producers thought we’d enjoy Barry’s encounter with the speed force ghosts of Christmases past. Maybe some fans enjoyed seeing those actors again, but I was bored because their conversations were full of a lot of things we’ve heard before.

Jay coming back to save Barry was explained by an off-screen move by Cisco, but I just didn’t care. It came off as a Deus Ex Machina, and him needing to stay to take Wally’s place in the speed force made no sense to me. They may have explained at some point why that was, but it seemed to me like manufactured drama.

Speaking of manufactured drama, there was plenty more of that. HR made a stupid comment that offended Jesse and gave them an excuse to eat up more screen time. Barry broke up with Iris for reasons that don’t make any sense. How he thinks he’s going to protect her and have “space” from her, I’ll never know, but I’m so far gone from rooting for that relationship I don’t care. To me, the logic of the show reads something like this: I can’t wear green because it’s Tuesday and dogs can’t do long division.

Speaking of terrible relationships, Wally and Jesse love each other now. They said so, and I’m pretty sure they mean it because they’ve known each other a couple weeks now, and they’re about to update Facebook relationship status, like, any minute, guys.

Oh, yeah, and apparently the key to stopping Savitar is striking at the gaps in his armor. Let’s hope he doesn’t find a caulking gun or we may resort to saying his name backward to see if that works.

On the bright side, next week is a musical episode. Wait, that’s not really a bright side. Okay, on the bright side, the Milky Way is on a collision course with the Andromeda galaxy, so in a few hundred billion years, all evidence of this episode’s existence will be lost to oblivion.

Kyle’s Take

Rativas. Nope, didn’t work. How about saying it three times? Rativas-Rativas-Rativas! No. Flash is still circling the drain.

How many times must Cisco fix things off-screen? Why must Flash do the speedster shuffle among its many Earths? Why must Barry save Iris? Why would the Speed Force give a crap whether Iris is saved or who does the deed?

Cisco has had several good character moments over the past year but this week didn’t include one and he’s lost what made him fun. HR doesn’t just replace Earth-2 Harrison Wells, he’s the only one cracking jokes. Remember when Cisco and Barry used to do that? It differentiated Flash from Arrow. Caitlin joined in every once and a while too. The only levity this season comes from HR and he doesn’t have any social graces so we end up with moments like the one where HR offends Jessie. That’s not the fun that made Flash enjoyable. Cisco’s still upset about his brother’s death, and his brother died because of Flashpoint. Flash needs to remove that stick up his and everyone else’s ass by undoing Flashpoint.

Flash does its best panhandler impression by moving one speedster into the Speed Force so another can leave and moving another to Earth-3 to cover the absence of the missing speedster. That’s a lot of maneuvering so Barry’s the only capable speedster to take out Savitar. All “Into the Speed Force” needed was carnival music to a guy mixing up Flash playing cards on a street corner. Hint: Barry’s card is marked.

Haven’t Wally and Jessie proclaimed their love before this week? No. They just moved in with each other, committed to spending the rest of their lives together. Isn’t that the same as saying you love each other, if not a step beyond saying it? No. Well, maybe I should leave the house my wife and I share but I tell her I love her as I leave. I’m sure that’d further our relationship. Flash making a big deal out of them saying they love each other illustrates how much the CW doesn’t understand the working of relationships.

Speaking of not knowing how relationships work, enough with Baris (Barry and Iris). They’re step brother and sister. I don’t need to know Flash’s writers room porn site history.

This season might be worth it if I knew Flash would eventually do justice for Flashpoint. Like Arrow and gun control a few weeks ago, Flash wants credit for using the Flashpoint buzz word but it’s only lip service. Flash has taken the life from its characters for nothing. It’s subjected us to the New Coke of speedster villains Savitar for nothing. And that’s before next week’s musical episode. Thanks for nothing, Flash.

Thank you for reading.