Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. review: “Among Us Hide…”

Kyle’s Review

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. went a little against type with some its characters in “Among Us Hide…,” and while a couple of these choices worked (well enough), others—one in particular—left me confused. Hunter running off like a dog with a scent gave the show levity; I liked that. Agent May on the warpath was a little forced but understandable. Rosalind Price held up a mirror to what drives her and we find she’s human: a bit heavy-handed but good stuff. But a reluctant Mockingbird betrayed her character. I get why she wouldn’t want to return to field work but I didn’t get the impression until this week that she was scared to return to the field.

I smiled when Mockingbird suggested she and May use a gentle hand with a couple of guards. At the time I wondered why more S.H.I.E.L.D. agents didn’t use subterfuge and misdirection but we’re fed through exposition that Mockingbird has the yips. This wouldn’t be a big deal—even understandable—but it only took Mockingbird fifteen minutes in this episode to shake off the rust and that undercut any believability to her having yips in the first place.

The rest of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s team are scattered. Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing but some of these disparate arcs can’t jive with each other and we have no idea which one, or ones, we should focus on. Do they want us to pick which ones we like best? Skye, Hunter, and Mack are on a wild goose chase uncovering Lash’s identity—that one might be one to forget. May and Mockingbird are tracking down Ward, who in turn wants to kill the von Strucker kid. While Coulson and Price play footsie under the table of lies, Fitz and Simmons still look for a way to return to Simmons’ alien prison planet.

As you can see there’s a lot going on, but the alien planet and Lash’s identity hold my interest the most. We find out who Lash is during “Among Us Hide….” I won’t spoil it for you here but it’s a doozy and when you find out who it is, you can rewind this past season in your head and find moments with subtle hints. I liked that a lot. And just because we know who Lash is, it’s still interesting to see how the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. when they find out.

Even though every story thread wasn’t a winner, “Among Us Hide…” presented a lot of good elements on which Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. can build.

The Flash Review: “The Darkness and the Light”

Jim’s Review

I think this was another decent week for The Flash. They seem to be doubling down on their commitment to explore the comics with the DC Multiverse while still giving us some satisfactory character development. To that end, we didn’t get nearly enough of Dr. Light this week, so that gave us the feel of another villain of the week, but her past connection to Barry makes me think there’s a good chance she’ll be brought back around, and not just forgotten in the pipeline like those who came before.

Earth 2’s Doctor Wells is compelling. They may be going a little far with everyone reacting to him, struggling to understand he’s not Eobard Thawne, but some of that is expected. On that point, I wish we had a greater sense of Earth Prime’s Doctor Wells. As we know by now, the “Dr. Wells” we knew wasn’t really Dr. Wells, but Thawne in Wells’ body. Tom Cavanagh is doing a really solid job here, making the different versions really stand out, but I wish we could have a more one-for-one comparison, let us see more of Wells of Earth Prime before Thawne took over his body. It may be too late for that at this point, but in either case, Cavanagh’s performance has been wonderful.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about what we saw with Jay Garrick this week. Wells painted him as a bit of a coward, and while I don’t think we were necessarily meant to agree, I think it’s a dangerous game to play when you have him shrink from the challenge of confronting Zoom. Nevertheless, this did add a layer to Garrick’s character, and one way or another, it makes for a more interesting story.

Barry and Patty’s date would ordinarily have been a good bathroom break for me. At this point, romance angles on CW shows are a thing I’ve just learned to tolerate, but this sequence wasn’t nearly as groan-worthy for me. The temporary blindness angle was pretty formulaic, but I like that it all ended in Patty recognizing he couldn’t see, and pointing out she wouldn’t be a very good detective if she didn’t pick up on that. It validated her to a certain point, and gave us something of her that isn’t just a bright-eyed overly enthusiastic rookie.

Maybe my big disappointment for this week was that we didn’t get anything for a follow up on King Shark. That was a really strong close to last week, and probably the most daring thing this show has tried since its brief foray into Grodd. I realize this show has a definite budget, but I hope that one appearance we’ll get from him. Mind you, I don’t care all that much about King Shark, but I find it encouraging to see them embrace the more comic-book-y elements of the show.

I’ve never really understood Cisco’s reluctance to explore his meta-human powers. I heard the character’s explanation, but I didn’t buy it, and I’d almost say it’s out of character, but the show used Garrick and Wells’ conflict to ebb that to some degree. Here again, I wish they didn’t bother us so much with the romance angle, and Cisco building the courage to ask out a random woman does not compare with him transitioning to a superhero. That’s a reach at best, but at least Cisco’s character has been moved to some sort of action.

I think The Flash has proven itself wise to embrace the multiverse. They’ve given themselves limitless possibilities for new material, and also helped balance out the interests of its young romantic and comic geek audiences.

Kyle’s Take

Welcome back to Flash, Jim. It was if Jim was iOS and he didn’t support Flash. JK

In all seriousness Jim’s absence on Flash reviews for the past few weeks is telling; he strictly follows the adage of if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all. But Jim’s return also means that “The Darkness and the Light” has put Flash back on track and that’s because they dropped all story threads that lead to Legends of Tomorrow and put the West family arc on hold.

With a clear path Flash was able to spend time with DC’s multiverse. Like Jim said, Flash embraced it. Up to this week, the multiverse was a means to introduce a ton of new characters, sacrificing story and character for fan service and Easter eggs. While I like fan service and Easter eggs, I like story and characters more, so I enjoyed “The Darkness and the Light.” Alright, let’s speed up things.

Cisco gave us good vibrations, even though I don’t buy into his reluctance in using his powers: this was a stalling tactic so Flash could get through that Legends of Tomorrow business—it’s the gift that kept on giving. Caitlin’s line of “just because your powers came from Wells doesn’t mean you’ll turn evil” was funny and prophetic. Here’s looking at you, Killer Frost. The multiverse, while a source of good for Flash, has a price. The writers are turning the show into Highlander: there can be only one. One ultimate villain: Zoom. One ultimate Flash: Barry. Hence, Jay Garrick gets colored a coward. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, it’s an odd choice and it could backfire. Harrison Wells is back. Yay! The gang doesn’t trust the new Wells: heavy handed at times but understandable. The villain of the week may be a recurring villain: not bad, not bad; it’s different than Arrow, and allows Zoom to simmer.

I liked this week’s episode. The Flash may have turned on a switch with “The Darkness and the Light.”

Head to our Flash secrets page for more of those Flash Easter eggs. (Here’s a link.) Thanks for reading.

Blindspot Review: “Sent on Tour”

Kyle’s Review

Blindspot skipped most interpersonal relationship arcs in this week’s episode “Sent on Tour” for the puzzle and crime/mystery. I don’t want to spoil anything here, but the puzzle wasn’t as clever as weeks past, stopping or solving the crime involved cutting through red tape than anything else, and while it’s okay to put character plotlines on the backburner, you can’t eliminate them. With the exception of Jane (Jaimie Alexander) and Patterson (Ashley Johnson), I didn’t get the sense anyone on the team knew anyone else most of this episode. Guest star Lou Diamond Phillips gave a great performance as he’s oft to do, and I enjoyed—for the most part—Patterson getting busted.

I won’t concentrate too much on the negative—it’s the usual Blindspot gripes of wooden acting and stiff dialogue anyway—so let’s get to the good stuff. Phillips portrayed another emotionally scarred veteran, turning against his country or at least his former unit—I’m sensing a theme here, Blindspot. Unfortunately, Phillips’s character and the issues he caused did little but reveal Mayfair (Agent Weller’s commander) as a liar.

Patterson and her beau got caught compromising top secret information. While I liked the proverbial excrement hitting the fan, nothing came of Patterson’s indiscretions. She voiced concerns about losing her job, but when classified information is concerned, you’re lucking you don’t make smaller rocks out of bigger rocks. I laughed every time I heard Patterson worry about her job. The FBI also let David (Patterson’s boyfriend) go real quick. I don’t buy it. The feds have to at least monitor him, and I’d prefer the FBI threaten David (to bring back tension), but I think they’ll hire him. While hiring David makes little sense from a national security standpoint, I’d be down with it. David solved most of the puzzles anyway and he makes Patterson human.

While I think last week’s “Cede Your Soul” left Blindspot in a better place by episode’s end, “Sent on Tour” had enough going for it that it kept my interest. Thanks for reading.

The Awesomes Review: “The Final Showdown”

Kyle’s Review

The Awesomes finished their third season in typical fashion: someone on the team—usually Prock—needs a pep talk, the team bands together to defeat the season’s big bad, and next season’s baddie is introduced in the final few seconds of the show. This season’s finale was clearly an issue of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but that’s not a bad thing. The biggest issues I had with “The Final Showdown” were that there weren’t many funny moments and several character story threads were dropped.

The lack of comedy—in terms of an Awesomes season finale—is nothing new for the show’s formula. The Awesomes tend to ease up on the comedy when it comes to a season’s final two episodes (the Writers Room concentrates on wrapping up villainous loose ends) and yet “The Final Showdown” felt like it didn’t have as many jokes as prior season finales. Nothing could top Mr. Awesome (Prock’s dad) turning evil at the end of the second season, so sorry, next season’s big bad. The Awesomes also brought up some powerful story threads and dropped most of the character-driven stories in order to fight the season’s big bad. In other words, “The Final Showdown” fell short.

I’m still interested in The Awesomes’ fourth season but don’t tease me. Continue to question what makes a good man, show the Awesome family grow, and remind us Livewire’s pregnant. Seriously, for the better part of four episodes, it’s as if Livewire wasn’t even in a family way.

Thanks for reading.

Grimm Review: “The Grimm Identity”

Kyle’s Review

“The Grimm Identity” went in several directions. Some worked, while others fell flat. I enjoyed how the show started. Cut scenes made us question Nick’s mental state and flash backs reminded us of what happened last season. The combination of these two storytelling elements lead me to question whether or not Juliette is dead. Grimm wouldn’t kill off one of its principle characters. Would they? A “dead” Juliette in a Snow White inspired coffin suggests not. Despite these great developments, I don’t see why Grimm felt the need for Nick to puke expositional dialogue. Even though we saw visions of what happened last season, Nick sped through all the plot threads again but he spoke so quickly, I couldn’t catch half of what he said. And I don’t buy the exchange between Hank and Nick (Nick’s upset and Hank thinks he’s speaking gibberish). The flashbacks and cut scenes were enough. A shorter exchange would’ve worked.

The rest of “The Grimm Identity” spent time forcing the Nick’s crazy angle—even though we know he’s not—and his mission to track down Trubel. I don’t want to spoil anything here but Nick jumps out of the fire and into the lion’s mouth. We may have had a rocky ride getting somewhere during “The Grimm Identity,” but Nick’s story arc got to a good place. The rest of Nick’s gang question whether it’s a good thing Juliette died (which was fitting and Grimm didn’t dwell too long on it). Renard had scenes opposite the rest of the cast and we find he’s suffering from the fall out of his turn as Jack the Ripper last season, an arc no one asked for. Before “The Grimm Identity” committed to Nick looking for Trubel, Adalind gives birth to her and Nick’s daughter. I rolled my eyes when I heard there were complications during childbirth.

Why do comedies play up whether or not folks get to the hospital and/or change the number of babies born, while dramas have complications during childbirth? Grimm explained what happened well enough but hearing this cliché took me out of the story for a moment and also got me wondering if we’d see a supernatural baby with powers. I hope not.

Grimm has plenty to work with this season and the parts of “The Grimm Identity” that worked outnumbered the ones that didn’t. Still, Grimm sputtered as it got in gear. I’m sure next episode will make more headway.

Arrow Review: “Beyond Redemption”

Jim’s Review

This week’s episode did a lot right, I think. Maybe it was the tying up of a couple loose ends, maybe it was individual performances, it was almost certainly because the rogue SCPD task force had a device which could mute Laurel, but what’s important was that I enjoyed it.

One thing this show is doing is borrowing from other areas of the DC universe. Since the big two (Batman and Superman) seem personas non grata in the Arrow-verse, that’s freeing them up to pilfer a little from those characters. With Sara, they seem to be swiping the Jason Todd angle from Batman, and that could work, but I’m a little worried about how much screen time that will give Laurel in all of it.

The angle with Felicity worrying over Ray’s last recording fell a little flat for me, and the idea that the device couldn’t be hacked didn’t really ring true to me, even if it was Ray’s. I suppose the long and the short of it is I’m not invested with that particular angle. Felicity working with Curtis to develop an idea and save jobs at the company is all well and good, but there’s no tension attached to it. When they’re seen together, they banter and trade life stories. Neither of them seems particularly stressed, and if they seem detached, you can be sure the audience will, too.

I will say I’m really enjoying Neal McDonough as Damien Darhk. He’s doing a fantastic job of blending a menacing demeanor with an odd sort of charisma, and in that way, I feel like he could just about become this show’s Joker, where Count Vertigo failed miserably to hit those notes.

A trend I started seeing last season, which I’m sorry to see continue, is the flashback sequences flattening out. I’ve noted it before, and it’s just something they haven’t gotten on track. Oliver being back on the island is an effective way to introduce future plot elements, but there’s too much of a disconnect with what is happening now.

The highlight for me was Oliver confronting Captain Lance. Maybe for the first time, I felt their conflict had something tangible to it, so it was a strong narrative moment for me as a viewer, and I think Stephen Amell really sold it. It may be the most impressed I’ve been with him as an actor.

Unfortunately, I feel I have to fire a parting shot at this episode. I liked what Captain Lance said at the end, but I didn’t buy it. It came too suddenly, and I couldn’t believe it managed to change the mind of a woman who’d already murdered colleagues in cold blood.

Everything considered, I still think this season is working much better than last. As always, they’ve got a lot of irons in the fire, and I just can’t see my way to caring about all of them, but I don’t find myself checking out nearly as often, and I’m genuinely interested to see how things progress.

Kyle’s Take

I’m unsure whether Arrow made significant strides during “Beyond Redemption” but I’m enjoying this season more than the last, and that’s a good thing. Like Jim, I couldn’t care less about the Ray/Felicity angle because Felicity is with Ollie and her mourning will be short lived as Ray Palmer/Atom will return and we’ll get another lead-in for Legends of Tomorrow. I won’t harp on Arrow setting up yet another show here. I’ve even said my piece about how ridiculous and deflated the Curtis-Felicity saving jobs arc is. Tom Brady texted and he says you need to pump more air into that story, Arrow.

The further removed we are from Arrow’s first season, the less sense Ollie revisiting the island during flashbacks makes. We also get a disconnect from season to season (we do the time warp every year), so since I’m a solutions-oriented guy, keep the flashbacks but make them about the six month gap between seasons. Alright, enough of the negative let’s get to the positives.

McDonough as Darhk: good. Oliver confronting Lance: great. Rogue cop using a Canary dampener on Laurel: belly laugh funny. Laurel’s comeback of different frequency, same cry: cringe-worthy. But if Arrow could drop lines like these with a little more tongue-in-cheek (think Robin during Batman Forever and “holey, rusted metal, Batman”), I might be able to get on board. Cheese pairs well with whine.

Overall, this season’s moving along well and I’m glad I stuck around.

Arrow had a handful of secrets this week and here’s a link to our Arrow secrets page. Thanks for reading.

The Flash Review: “The Fury of Firestorm”

Kyle’s Review

I can see why Flash fans could be upset with the last two weeks of this season: the show has marked time, setting up the CW’s upcoming Legends of Tomorrow. Both The Flash and Arrow (as of this review, I haven’t seen the latest episode of Arrow) have seen their story arcs and series regulars play second fiddle to the upcoming series, but The Flash has suffered this fate far more than Arrow. Hopefully, the events at the end of “The Fury of Firestorm” will launch The Flash in a different and better direction.

Even worse than the deferment of any meaningful progress in Flash for Legends of Tomorrow’s setup, was the cast’s stilted acting during this episode. I don’t know if it’s the writing, the actors, the direction, or all of the above, but Grant Gustin (Barry), Jesse L. Martin (Detective West), and Carlos Valdes (Cisco) were the only ones who looked natural. I guess Candice Patton (Iris) did okay but she showed little range beyond being pissed at her mother. The West family arc moved too fast for my taste but fortunately, I don’t think it’s over yet. Iris’s mother is sick with a terminal illness and her truth bomb could lead to a major shift in the Flash. And that might be another thing that’s keeping The Flash’s second season from clicking. The Flash has introduced more than one element that could affect the show long term—but with no definite payoff—and the DC TV universe as a whole. I’d like the Flash to focus more on its characters.

“The Fury of Firestorm” had Caitlin Snow think about Ronnie for the first time this season, but Firestorm was in the title, so I guess the writers thought it was a prerequisite. It’s shocking that Jay Garrick (Caitlin’s new love interest) didn’t make an appearance this week, when he’s made one every other episode this season and he hasn’t returned home. That’s convenient. Franz Drameh gave a good performance as Jefferson “Jax” Jackson, but Drameh didn’t have enough time or material to explore his character. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of him in Legends of Tomorrow. The villain of the week worked well enough for me. I don’t expect Hewitt to return but he could, and the pot’s on the stove but the pilot light isn’t lit for the Zoom slow boil. There isn’t enough connective tissue at this point to make me care about Zoom, and the villain most Flash fans wanted to return made an appearance at the end of “The Fury of Firestorm.” Harrison Wells could be a calming presence for The Flash.

“The Fury of Firestorm” showed promise—at least at the end—and I trust Flash will turn the corner next week. While we’ve seen plenty of action this season, I’d like a little more character development.

There were plenty of name drops and Easter eggs in “The Fury of Firestorm,” so here’s our Flash secrets page. Thank you for reading.

iZombie review: “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues”

Kyle’s Review

iZombie continues its strong showing this season with “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues.” Several plot points boil over, but not too many. This week’s showcased character is Major. After weeks—if not a month—of hard drug abuse, Major reaches his breaking point. While trying to purchase drugs, Major runs into a teenage boy he tried to get off drugs when he was a social worker. Ouch. Then, he’s so stoned he can’t remember what happened to the dog, Minor, he adopted, and he runs back to Liv. “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues” continued Major’s rollercoaster of a season but Liv isn’t too far behind on this ride.

The weekly mystery took a backseat in “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues,” so Liv could parse her feeling with Major. She’d been so focused on work that she hadn’t been able to deal with Major up to this point and an investigation going nowhere was a good and organic way to address her personal issues. iZombie promised us romance for Liv and we may have seen the first glimpse of it this week. I’m glad iZombie took its time, easing us into a Liv’s romantic life, but I’m not convinced things are settled yet: Major has been sleeping with Liv’s roommate. That can’t go well.

Even though the mystery’s solution played second fiddle, we saw how the case was solved. I wasn’t too happy with how the case got wrapped up in a pretty bow, but someone coming forward with new evidence is usually how things happen and victims can be in the wrong place at the wrong time. “Even Cowgirls Get the Black and Blues” took a break from giving us a police procedural and spent time on character development. I can’t be upset with that. Heck, even detective Babineaux and Peyton may have side story arcs that could have legs. And the season’s slow boil with Blaine and Max Rager provide iZombie with plenty of opportunities.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review: “4,722 Hours”

Kyle’s Review

Last week’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. set up “4,722 Hours,” so we shouldn’t be surprised that this week gave us everything Simmons experienced while she was off-planet, but I would’ve liked if we had these tidbits sprinkled throughout the season instead of upchucked in one episode. Still, “4,722 Hours” was a good episode and Simmons’s behavior over the past episode or two was explained.

The man Simmons encountered on the alien planet not only befriended Simmons but further complicated Simmons and Fitz’s relationship. (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn’t named the planet yet but since the planet is a sentient being—maybe—this planet may be a little used but awesome comic book reference: we’ll let you know in our secrets page.) While there isn’t a direct Marvel comic book link with the name Will Daniels, the name the man stranded on the living planet gives Simmons, I’m not convinced Will told Simmons the truth. There’s more to this world and the abandoned man.

“4,722 Hours” had layers. That’s not surprising given that this week’s episode focused on a character without powers. I’ve said in the past that Daisy (aka Quake, aka Skye) needed more opportunity and layers, and I hope Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gives her a similar treatment that it gave Simmons this week. And just because “4,722 Hours” gets into Simmons psyche doesn’t mean that it skimped on action. This planet—whether it is or isn’t what I think it is—is one foul beast. It messed with our protagonist physically, mentally, and psychologically.

As long as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. builds their characters in a manner like the ones used in “4,722 Hours,” I could see season three as its best season. Perhaps with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. laying the groundwork for Inhumans, we’ll see the show progress Marvel’s cinematic universe rather than playing second fiddle to it. In other words, “4,722 Hours” was a great episode despite only featuring one main cast member. Give us more episodes like this, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..

Want to learn more about this week’s mysterious planet? Here’s a link to our Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. secrets page. Thank you for reading.

Blindspot Review: “Cede Your Soul”

Kyle’s Review

Some critics may dislike “Cede Your Soul” when comparing the episode to prior Blindspot episodes because the show traded squeezing in a puzzle, a mystery, and scant character development for taking a breath and letting viewers into the quiet hours of Blindspot’s large cast. “Cede Your Soul” had Weller and Jane take a step back, while both of them sorted out their private lives—or lack thereof. Zapata may have settled her score with her bookie—but I doubt this will last. And Patterson’s boyfriend makes another appearance and the boyfriend messed up Patterson’s board game collection: he alphabetized Patterson’s board games by title instead of by game designer. I feel your pain, Patterson. All of this added to a lot of time in which to know these characters during “Cede Your Soul,” because there wasn’t much of a puzzle for this week and the mystery got wrapped up real quick, sort of.

I don’t want to get into too much of “Cede Your Soul’s” plot and inadvertently give away some spoilers but let’s say that this week’s baddie was tricked into doing bad things, helped the FBI stop the threat, got kidnapped by the folks who tricked them, and then showed Jane Doe and Patterson how to find her. This inside guy afforded Blindspot to dive into its central and reoccurring characters and that’s a great thing.

I’m still not sold on Jane and Weller’s romantic involvement (if there will be one) and elements presented in “Cede Your Soul” make that a more distant probability. I’ll also need more context between Agent Weller and his dad to completely buy into Weller’s distance with him. Weller is distant from everyone but specifically his father. There has to be something more to this relationship but Blindspot hasn’t revealed it—yet. The Zapata arc is going well. The events in “Cede Your Soul” may suggest that Zapata’s gambling story arc is done but everyone knows Zapata’s addiction will turn up again. Jane Doe gets friendly with this week’s duped baddie and forms a bond. With the break in the action, Blindspot delves into how lonely Jane’s new life is and that was nice to see. But I have a soft spot for the board game loving Patterson (for obvious reasons). I can’t say she and I have the same taste in games—how many copies of Clue do you need?—and her private life was only touched on, but I like that there’s a prominent character with a serious board game addiction.

Overall, “Cede Your Soul” was a good change up to Blindspot’s usual break-neck speed and I’d like to see more Blindspot episodes take this route—certainly not all of them, but some more episodes like “Cede Your Soul” would be nice.