Into the Badlands Review: “Fist Like a Bullet”

Jim’s Review

The second episode of Into the Badlands came out a bit smoother. With a lot of the world-building out of the way in the debut, this week we got a little better impression of the characters themselves. Sunny’s disillusionment was amped up. Quinn got some news that put a definite twist on his story arc also, even if they did push his character dangerously close to the level of cartoonishly evil.

One of the intriguing elements of the show so far is that there isn’t yet a clear side to pull for. None of the Barons are obviously on the side of right, and I think keeping that as the status quo is a good way to let the characters make their mark on an individual level, rather than being swept up in a large-scale conflict.

We got a little more about MK’s pendent, and the symbol on it. There’s clearly something to that, but they’re not giving much away yet. The combat scenes continue to impress, but Sunny’s showdown with the Widow’s hired goons may have been a little too large for its own good. If the show gets into the habit of needing to outdo itself every week, that could become a drain.

We got another character questioning their loyalty this week, and with a character who hasn’t had much screen time yet, that falls a bit flat. In the sort of world they’ve created, people doing good for the sake of doing good is not an easy sell.

It’s only two episodes in, and the show is showing a few cracks in the proverbial paint, but it’s still genuinely entertaining, and unlike anything else I’m seeing on TV these days. If you haven’t checked this show out yet, you may be missing something.

Grimm Review: “Maiden Quest”

Kyle’s Review

After some back-to-back great episodes, Grimm fell flat this week. I had solved the weekly mystery for “Maiden Quest” in about eight minutes, so the big reveal didn’t surprise me, and yet the reasoning behind the murders was pretty good. I won’t go into it here and spoil things but let’s just say Grimm put the antiquated idea of a man winning a maiden’s hand into a washer and ran a quick spin cycle.

We didn’t get much outside the weekly mystery besides Nick and Adalind playing house in their fortress, Monroe and Rosalee helping the new parents, the hint of a story for Renard, and Nick returning to the force. I don’t know how or why Nick’s back on the job—I kind of liked him being on the outs with the Portland PD—but I knew he’d be back at some point this year. I just expected more of an explanation and/or fanfare. If I’m being honest, I expected Nick back in uniform by or in the mid-season break.

Regardless, we saw another thread begin during the closing minutes of “Maiden Quest,” and in order to discuss it, I’ll have to warn you with a spoiler alert. Trubel shambles into Nick’s abode. We know she’s been tortured for the past six episode, so who knows what will shake loose?

Even though “Maiden Quest” was mostly filler, it introduced some things in Grimm that should be interesting.

Jessica Jones

Jim’s first impressions

The short answer is I think I’m going to like Netflix’s Jessica Jones. I’ve only seen episode one so far, but it held my interest. It was a little slow to start. We get a lot of Jessica skulking around New York fire escapes while everyone in the city has sex in front of a window with the blinds open, but it’s the second half of the episode that gets things going.

The show may be relying a little too much on the hard-boiled detective clichés. I’d struggle to name a single one they’ve missed so far. They also are leaning really hard on the Marvel Max nature of the show. For those who don’t know, Marvel Max was a comic book imprint of Marvel where the titles were for mature audiences. They had more explicit violence, sex, and all the trappings thereof. I’m no prude, but at some point, the show comes off as being like that boy who just hit puberty and brags about having to shave four hairs off his chin. It just feels like the show is trying too hard to be darker than Daredevil.

All that said, I think by the end of the first episode, I had a feel for what the show wanted to be, and it shows a lot of potential.

Arrow Review: “Brotherhood”

Jim’s Review

This week’s Arrow was a pretty good one. Damien Darhk wasn’t used for as much as he could have been. He mostly hung around to be a menacing figure, but I like that his confrontation with Thea presented some possibilities. We got more of Ray, which mostly served to set up Legends of Tomorrow, but it was handled in a way that I feel was less intrusive this time. Both Arrow and Flash have been weighed down at times this season, doing some groundwork for The CW’s latest spinoff, but Ray folded in with the rest of team Arrow, and that meant the show didn’t have to pull double duty with an entirely separate plot this week.

Diggle’s emotional development felt a little strange to me. I had a hard time buying his animosity toward his brother, at least after he and Oliver witnessed HIVE’s use of mind-altering drugs. Dig’s refusal to consider giving his brother the benefit of the doubt felt out of character. What’s more, his burying the hatchet with Oliver was sudden. I’ve felt all season they needed to have Diggle forgive Oliver, but it’s weird to have him call the guy “brother” after half a season of cold shoulders and barely contained anger. In other words, if you’re going to drag the grudge out this long, you need something bigger than usual to get past it.

Diggle’s brother coming back to the show also underscores something Kyle and I have been talking about since last season, and that’s lowering the stakes by undoing death. For them to use another “resurrection” on such a minor character is a big risk without much in the way of a foreseeable payoff.

The island flashbacks and Oliver’s mayoral campaign still aren’t doing anything for me. We’re not seeing Oliver change much on the island, and it seems to me like that thread is taking its sweet time getting to the point. As for his campaign, politician Ollie is never going to be as fun or interesting as Green Arrow Ollie, and I truly hope they don’t sacrifice the latter for the former. As it stands, we’re being asked to believe running for mayor of a major city is a pretty casual thing. It doesn’t seem to take up much of his time, and though he’s running unopposed, it’s getting tough to believe absolutely no one is paying attention to where the guy goes between fundraisers.

I can’t stress enough how much of an improvement this season has been over last. It’s still got its bumps in the road, but I’m at least remembering why I like this show.

Kyle’s Take

Arrow put its Legends of Tomorrow superheroes on the backburner and gave Damien Darhk more airtime. That’s a great thing, even if Ray made an appearance as part of Team Arrow and Damien wasn’t used as effectively as he could have been. Damien Darhk is Arrow’s fourth season runaway star.

The Diggle story leaves much to be desired. Let’s just say David Ramsey (the actor who plays Diggle) doesn’t buy Diggle’s emotional development and Darhk had to have used a third method of bringing Andy Diggle back to life. Just because the Lazarus Pit is out of commission—for now—doesn’t mean Arrow characters big and small can’t cheat death. To paraphrase Tropic Thunder’s Kirk Lazarus, “Death ain’t nothing but a thang.”

Island flashbacks and a Queen running for mayor were so first season. I’m not sure if enough time has passed for them to come back in style and even if ample time has passed, these two arcs fell flat. And yet we’re brought back to Damien Darhk and another juicy tidbit: his power assuages Thea’s urge to kill.

Ah, I love the Damien character. I’d hire him to stand in a corner and look menacing, which is what he did for the most part during “Brotherhood.” While I don’t buy Ollie running for mayor, the moment he and Darhk shared at the end of this episode was great.

Arrow had some Easter eggs this week and we have them in our Arrow secrets page. Here’s a link. Thanks for reading.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. review: “Many Heads, One Tale”

Kyle’s Review

“Many Heads, One Tale” was a heavy on the cloak and dagger episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and that’s alright by me. The plot turns in this episode are the most drastic since the wake of Captain America: Winter Soldier. I think they’re better than the Winter Soldier ones because Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t generate its own turns two years ago, while the show did here. I don’t want to drop spoilers, but plenty happened among the ATCU, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Hydra.

Coulson and Price continued their game of cat and mouse until they realized someone played the game better than them, Ward teamed up with Hydra’s other head, the ATCU isn’t all it seems, Fitz and Simmons discover the grim reality of Will Daniels (Simmons’ other suitor) presence on the distant, alien planet, and “Many Heads, One Tale” gives us a bleak and compelling ending. I don’t know if this episode was meant to be Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s mid-season finale but it was intense and could work as one. I checked, and there is another episode scheduled in two weeks, so we do get a little bit of a break and there’s enough heat to carry the show for a few weeks.

Speaking of heat, there was plenty of romance wafting through the halls of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. I didn’t mind it because each relationship was a little different and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. refrained from drenching backstories with who is sleeping with whom; something you can’t say about other comic book shows. I can’t really say more (without revealing spoilers) except that Mockingbird (Bobbi) gets an upgrade to her batons and that’s great, Hunter provides some nice comic relief, and I can see Daisy (Skye/Quake) beginning to emerge as a character.

Everything’s looking up for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. “4,722 Hours” may still be the third season’s best episode so far, but shows like “Many Heads, One Tale” goes a long way in making this season Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s strongest.

iZombie review: “Abra Cadaver”

Kyle’s Review

iZombie finds a way to meld humor with the strange and morbid, and “Abra Cadaver” is no different. There were more yucks in this week’s episode than in most others as the gang investigates the murder of Sid Wicked, a magician in the vein of Criss Angel, at Presto-Fest, a magic convention. We found plenty of red herrings—some literal, others figurative—for the weekly mystery, the relationship story arcs were handled in a subtle and artful way, Liv and Blaine make a strange dynamic duo, magic—okay, it’s more prestidigitation—was on display at every available turn, and to paraphrase Ravi, the brains Liv was on this week were the best brains ever.

I may argue Liv has had better side-effects from the brains she’s eaten but the morose Sid Wicked played off of Major’s doubts about his and Liv’s relationship. Liv’s like Britney (Spears) only sometimes she’s “Hit Me, Baby, One More Time” with certain brains, and others she’s shaved head Britney. Sid may be more shaved head Britney and the results lead to Major questioning who he’s dating: Liv or the brains she eats. But Liv’s open about her flaws; Major isn’t. I don’t know whether or not Major’s drug problem is still an issue. If I had one small gripe with iZombie, it would be that Major’s drug addiction seems to come and go. As far as Ravi’s love life is concerned, he dumps his anglophile girlfriend. Even though he loves his native country, there is a thing as too much England, and Ravi’s ex gets almost everything wrong; they celebrated Guy Fawkes Day almost two weeks late. This breakup frees up Ravi to date Peyton. I think the two will get together eventually but iZombie’s pumping the breaks, for now. For being a show that was supposed to be about relationships, iZombie does a much better job than other CW shows of integrating romance into other story elements.

There was one element missing: Stacey Boss. iZombie did a great job of setting up this menacing human antagonist and was conspicuously absent during “Abra Cadaver. Even so, I didn’t miss Stacey Boss that much. I don’t think iZombie can omit him for too many weeks, it has other story threads to tackle, but Blaine and Liv working together to unearth Seattle’s zombie killer (Major) was satisfyingly awkward and tied several threads.

iZombie is working toward a strong mid-season finale and “Abra Cadaver” took several steps in the right direction.

The Flash Review: “Gorilla Warfare”

Jim’s Review

I don’t think this week was a step backward for Flash, but I do think it was mostly a filler episode. There was no progress at all with the Zoom story arc. In fact, Zoom only appeared in Barry’s traumatic flashbacks of their confrontation. Grodd is always going to be exciting for comic book enthusiasts, and this episode set some things up that could be interesting for future arcs, but the showdown came out a little paint-by-numbers.

Barry’s dad coming back didn’t do much at all for the episode. His medical expertise wasn’t needed because Barry healed on his own, and the pep-talk didn’t offer anything surprising.

I still don’t mind Patty and Barry as a couple, but I don’t think their relationship can carry the show, and this episode relied on it as maybe the one thing that moved forward(ish). At this point, the more they push these “awkward” situations for Barry to talk himself out of with Patty, the less sense it makes for him to not just let her in on his secret. I mean, he did just peel his mask off in front of his ex-girlfriend, didn’t he?

All things considered, this episode did just enough to keep my attention, but nothing to fire me up for the next one. It didn’t ruin anything, but too many more like it, and the show will stagnate.

Kyle’s Take

Well color me a comic book enthusiast, because I always like a Grodd show. Even though Gorilla Grodd—the CW does a great job with Grodd by the way—makes an appearance, “Gorilla Warfare” wasn’t as tight an episode as I would have liked. This may sound odd for the fastest man alive, but Flash shouldn’t speed through its stories. “Gorilla Warfare” should’ve been the second episode after Flash broke his back, not the next. I know, I know, the Flash heals quickly but “Gorilla Warfare” alludes to the year and a half Batman story arc Knightfall—oh no, I said Batman—but Flash zips through Knightfall in twenty minutes.

What’s worse is that we’re told rather than shown the Flash’s struggle to stand. If your ears blinked at the beginning of “Gorilla Warfare,” you probably missed that Barry had been recuperating for a week. Show us. Especially in a visual medium, show us. Now I’m not saying Barry has to be bed-ridden for months—that’d be boring and would betray his character’s healing factor—but showing us one episode where Barry struggles to stand, not just walk and run, would have provided weight to every other story thread “Gorilla Warfare” used: Henry’s presence would’ve been needed, we’d understand Patty’s unwillingness to believe Barry had the flu followed by a potential sinus infection, and you’d have an episode between two villains who could break Barry.

With a week after breaking its hero’s back Flash had a chance to pull a Prince Bride and have Team Flash defeat a lesser villain with the help of a Flash who can only muster enough strength to stand up during the final showdown, and Prince Bride physically showed up in this episode. (I guess I should’ve said spoiler alert for those of you who haven’t seen Prince Bride but if you haven’t, shame on you.)

Despite all this, I enjoyed “Gorilla Warfare.” I want to see more of Grodd, and Flash hinted at a return, but I don’t know if we’ll see the Great Grape Ape later this season.

Want more Flash? Dash to our Flash secrets page. Thanks for reading.

Blindspot Review: “Authentic Flirt”

Kyle’s Review

“Authentic Flirt” didn’t have as strong of a tattoo puzzle this week—the FBI’s big computer did most of the work—but Weller and Jane infiltrating a snot-nosed millionaire cyber-monster made up for that small shortcoming. Don’t look now, but Weller and Jane may have some onscreen chemistry; that was great to see. I liked how they played off each other and how they weaseled their way into the weekly villain’s trust. But Weller and Jane weren’t the only ones acting super spy. We saw plenty of espionage on this week’s Blindspot. Heck, David (Patterson’s ex) gets in on the action. Like usual I won’t say what happened and spoil the show, but David’s arc wraps up in an interesting–if not a little predictable–way and could lead to future complications.

Agent Carter—no relation to Marvel’s Agent Carter—tightens his screws on Zapata. Carter paid Zapata’s gambling debts a few weeks ago and we see how he wants her to repay him: spy on Jane. This thread took a while to set up but it’s humming right now. But the big draw this week was Rich.com, the aforementioned cyber terrorist. No, his mom didn’t give him the name Rich.com and I like the moment when Zapata refers to Rich by his given name and before Reade could correct her (by insisting it’s .com), she said she wasn’t calling him that, but Rich.com delivers plenty of levity to a show that often has none. I’m not saying Blindspot could use a Cisco—or maybe I am—but a few jokes time and again couldn’t hurt.

“Authentic Flirt” also ended with a few major happenings. I’d cover them in more detail but that would spoil the episode. Let’s just say that Jane and her team won’t be the same after “Authentic Flirt,” and that’s fantastic. Blindspot has leaned on slick visuals since its pilot but it looks like the story and characters are catching up and that has me excited.

Into the Badlands Review: “The Fort”

Jim’s Review

I’ll give almost any show on AMC a shot. Despite having a pretty wide array of shows, they seem to have a pretty specific formula for a series in mind. I think the key to it is they don’t try to keep it going indefinitely. When they start a show, they know where it’s going, and they have some idea how to get it there. That helps them avoid the pitfalls of other shows, the endless love triangles, the new characters shoe-horned into the story, and all the other annoying tricks showrunners try to squeeze one more season out of a hit show. With all that being said, I’d have given Into the Badlands a look even if it weren’t an AMC show. The premise is interesting enough. I think when Kyle asked me about it, I described it as a post-apocalyptic Kung Fu fantasy. Gets your attention, right?

From an aesthetic point of view, I think the look of the show is striking. By that I mean this doesn’t look like a post-apocalyptic world I’ve seen before. There’s green grass and blue sky. Actually, the show is generally a back and forth between vibrant color and more muted noir. The choreography that goes into the fight scenes is impressive. I’m not a Kung Fu movie buff, but from what I’ve seen, I’d think the action would satisfy those who are.

From a narrative standpoint, I described this is a post-apocalyptic Kung Fu fantasy, and that’s really because the story borrows a few tropes from all those genres. If anything drags the show down, it’ll be a reliance on those tropes. We’ve got a world under the control of barons (read feudal Japan or China), a mystery orphan with mystical power, a forbidden romance, a baron’s lieutenant questioning his loyalty, and a young baron’s son living in his father’s shadow. How well any or all of that works depends on how the characters in question are developed along the way. The premier episode was more focused on world building than character building, so it’s not fair to render a verdict just yet, but the potential for the show is easy to see. The world they did build in the premier feels enough like its own, and I think the writers found a good balance between introducing us to that world without loading the show down with exposition. There’s a lot we don’t know about this setting. We’re not sure what the apocalyptic war was about. We’re not quite sure why people flocked to the barons for protection, but I prefer a little mystery to a story that wants to take me by the hand and drag me through every mouse hole.

Into the Badlands caught my interest with its debut. I’m not certain it’ll hold my attention, but for now, it’s earned a chance.

Bob’s Burgers Review: “Nice-Capades”

BobBurgersSeason6

Kyle’s Review

Bob’s Burgers got back on track with this week’s “Nice-Capades.” I love it when Bob’s Burgers focuses on family, strong character development, and squeezes in a revelation by one of its many characters and this week’s episode had plenty of all.

I don’t want to spoil anything but I fear I’ll have to a little bit here, so you’ve been warned. The Belcher kids boot the mall’s Santa out of a massage chair, which prompts the mall Santa to warn them that he’s the real Santa’s eyes and ears. The rest of “Nice-Capades” revolves around the kids trying to make nice with the mall Santa. When every small gesture fails, they put on an ice show, hence the “capades.”

“Nice-Capades” highlights Louise’s hair-brained idea, Linda’s singing, Gene’s show tunes, a couple of Fishoeder cameos, and Tina playing the part of Linus from A Charlie Brown Christmas, basically everything viewers have come to expect from a solid family-centric Bob’s Burgers episode. The twist in the change Louise makes. I’m afraid I’ve said too much, but we don’t see Louise break down that often and she does here, making “Nice-Capades” a standout episode of Bob’s Burgers’s young season.