This series will be a brief, semi-comedic review of the CW superhero shows. You can check out last week’s review post here, or see the tally of winners below. The only shows discussed will be ‘Arrow’, ‘Flash’, and ‘Supergirl’. There WILL be some spoilers discussed, so only look at the reviews you’re up to date on!
Supergirl, “The Darkest Places” (Nov. 21)
CW manages to cram two superhero movies into one Supergirl episode. “The Darkest Places” is like a combination of Civil War and Dawn of Justice (including the subtle Batman reference). It’s ambitious, and while it’s sometimes clunky, it mostly pays off. Kara facing off with Mrs. Luthor is great, and the reveal of both Jeremiah and Hank works well. The weakest element is Guardian (CW’s Batman/Cap combo) fighting a copycat Arrow’s Vigilante, in a smaller capacity. J’onn turning into a White Martian, as if he’s a vampire, doesn’t totally make sense. But it could make for an interesting Henshaw v Henshaw brawl. Mon-El kicks off the inevitable romance plot for the show – and maybe James will be back in the triangle? Regardless, Supergirl covers a lot of high stakes subject matter in a satisfactory way, which is incredible. What will be most interesting is where the show goes from here.
SCORE: 8.5/10 Nova Helmets
The Flash, “Killer Frost” (Nov. 22)
Kevin Smith makes his welcome return to the director’s chair. While the writing feels clunky at times, “Killer Frost” has the best acting I’ve seen from The Flash. Barry, Joe and Cisco shine the brightest of the cast for this episode. Caitlin’s slow transformation is compelling, but once she becomes Killer Frost, her character falls on villain tropes and cringe-worthy dialogue. HR has the stereotypical “his real power is hope” line, but his coffee obsession is a pleasant reminder of the Gilmore Girls reboot. Barry quitting his job as a CSI makes total sense, and lines up with Julian’s super-lawful personality. Savitar continues to feel like Zoom 2.0, which makes him less compelling. The reveal of Julian as Alchemy makes sense, but is certainly predictable. However, the notion that he’s fighting Savitar, in some small sense, is more interesting. We’ll see how all these speedsters come together going forward.
8/10 Algorithms
Arrow did not have an episode this week. It’s possible Oliver was busy trying to figure out if his secret HQ could count as a tax write-off, now that he’s mayor. Felicity & the sidekicks are likely mad at Oliver for not simultaneously dating and killing Susan. Quentin goes to rehab and talks to Barry about his time-travel addiction.
WEEKLY WIN TALLY:
Supergirl: 3 Weeks
Arrow: 2.5 Weeks
The Flash: 1.5 Week
Be on the lookout for next week’s post, where we review the entire “Heroes vs Aliens” crossover event – INCLUDING ‘Legends of Tomorrow’! Are you excited for the big week of superheroes to come? Or are you busy binging ‘Gilmore Girls’? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
