Cthulhudrew

Looks like William may be trying to dig up dirt on Andrea Rojas while pretending to be her lapdog. Very curious how this NSA contact of his managed to track Kara, though (we'll probably never see or hear of that person again).

That was a really good episode (and that scene against Luthor's troops was awesome!), but damned if they didn't do it again. Undercutting the momentum of the story with another flashback episode. At least this one tied into the prior ep, and resolved that cliffhanger, but damn. Questions: They didn't just do all that to kill off Conner already did they? (Probably not). Connor seems orders of magnitude more powerful than any of the others at this point, including Kory and Donna. I hope this doesn't mean the writers will have to resort to really plot-induced stupidity reasons to sideline him or explain why Conner doesn't just eliminate all the bad guys going forward.

I thought I missed something too, but I wasn't paying complete attention so wouldn't have been surprised. Sounds like something got cut maybe? Also, I never read the original Crisis, but I thought the Monitor was supposed to be a good guy. This guy has been acting like the Anti-Monitor since he first showed up. What gives, Fauxbama?

I tend to agree. While I enjoy the heck out of this show, and appreciate that it is more down to earth than the other CW DC shows, this strikes me as pretty ridiculous. Aside from the questions about how this is even possible: how far does it go? How is it powered? Is it contiguous and how does that fit the geography? It looks like it is pretty opaque so how is daylight getting into the city still? etc., there is the more realistic question of how the city survives a prolonged period of time with this situation: the business disruptions alone would be nightmarish and costly (is there any such thing as a self-contained city any more?); the politics and public perception issues would be a nightmare and probably would result in any number of officials resigning or being removed from office; etc. (Disclaimer: I work in emergency management, so it is my job to consider this stuff.)

Nerdpeeve: We shouldn't be able to see anything inside that black hole. 😝

I don't know the Black Lightning comics all that well- does anyone know if Jamila Olsen is actually a character in DC? Because the name and character (reporter) sounds a bit too much like "James Olson" to be a coincidence; and it feels like a red herring.

I'll admit it; for a few minutes there, I actually thought it might be possible they were going to have a single episode season. What a mindf^@& that would have been. Pretty intense episode.

So, I realize the writers probably just intended it as an in-joke, and I'm taking it too literally, but humor me here: If a crazy super villain shows up on the scene and is styling herself after Alice of the Lewis Carrol stories, and you have a guy named Dodgson on the payroll, for the luvva pete, you might want to keep him under close surveillance!!! ETA: Why did this show decide to move the Batcave from beneath Wayne Manor to beneath Wayne Enterprises? Just wondering.

These things are part of the problem, in my opinion, with the pacing of how the show splits up the flashbacks with the present the way they have been doing. Without knowing the full extent of what exactly happened between the Titans, Deathstroke, and Jericho, it is hard to really feel the gravitas of the angst between the old Titans, and the underlying vendetta of Deathstroke. Similarly, you lose the momentum of the present-day cliffhangers when you have to wait two weeks for the resolution. I'm all for a bit of mystery and slow burn when it comes to certain story elements, but these are major story beats that the audience can't fully appreciate with the way they are being strung out.

When he was talking about how he would always have Jason's back even though he makes him want to punch him, I was hoping Dawn would say "I feel the same about you." The Deathstroke fight scene was pretty cool (even though I disagree with Dick; I preferred Kory's hairstyle last season). I think it was awesome seeing Kory kick butt- makes sense with her powers and warrior background that she'd be a good opponent for Slade. I was thinking Kory would end up flying and catching Jason, but I think the rest of you are right that it will be Connor (a bit random). Maybe it will be Krypto? This show still needs to work on its pacing; throwing in entire episode flashbacks in between major cliffhangers- and then referring in mysterious terms to things they still haven't flashed back to (likely Jerich becoming a Titan and then dying? Being crippled?) is a bit erratic. ETA: Awesome that they acknowledge Kory should be the leader. She really takes charge of any scene she's in, and even Dick recognized it immediately.

Lots of good observations. I agree with the general sentiment that something seemed off with the characters. Re: Hank and Dick, I think I can buy some of the observations above that Hank and Dawn may not have been together after that initial hookup. At the same time, my feeling was that the writers may have been trying to smooth over relations and make Dick and Dawn seem more like good people, because the impression I got from last season's "Hawk and Dove" was that there was tention between Hank and Dick over the Dawn relationship, and the flashbacks felt very much like Dick and Dawn had been in an affair. Re: Dick- I thought he felt a little off, too, if only because I didn't buy that he wouldn't have gotten a Cyrano de Bergerac reference. I suppose the idea that Bruce only focused his training on crimefighting fits the narrative for this particular show, but it really doesn't seem in keeping with Batman's MO and the Dick Grayson of the comics (both of whom seem are very broadly versed in all sorts of areas of knowledge- from criminal justice to the liberal arts). I also found it a little weird that Donna was cowering behind cover while Aqualad ran out to confront Dr. Light, and that it took Dick and Donna so long to run to his defense, but I guess I will write that off as dramatic tension. I did think the fight choreography was pretty good, especially the Hawk/Dawn teamwork, as phoenics point out up above.

I really enjoyed this episode, although the internal timeline seemed off. We see Donna talking to Jillian about going back to Themiscyra early, and Jillian says "my show ends in two weeks, if you still want to leave, you can go back with me then." Not too much later, Donna is telling Dick she has to leave "tonight." So I'm thinking, it's been two weeks already? Whew! Then we see that it is still the night of Garth's birthday, suggesting the whole episode took place in a single day(!), except we see Donna later talking to Jillian about staying, and it seems like it must be a while later- but when she comes back to Titans Tower, Hank and Dawn are taking down the decorations... so the next day? Weird. In any case, definitely seems a shame to write off Garth so quickly; I think that character was kind of cool. I really love Donna's character, and am glad she's getting more episode time this season. I suspect Deathstroke wasn't just there for Garth- after all, he did shoot twice, and Deathstroke (at least in comics) isn't the sort for collateral damage or extra credit if he's not getting paid for it. I kind of got the feeling that Garth knew he was taking one for the team and sacrificing himself for Donna, who I think was the real target (for whatever reason). If so, that means Donna will be in trouble now, because Deathstroke also isn't one to leave a contract unfulfilled. For a second, I actually thought Jillian had put the hit on Garth, to try and compel Donna to come back early, but a) she wouldn't have had any reason to know he would show up at the airport, and b) she seemed relieved that Garth finally admitted his feelings out loud.

I think I wouldn't mind the ending so much had it not relied upon the kindnesses of a character that just spent the last two seasons cutting a bloody swath across humanity (in his/her elegantly charming manner, to boot). It seems a bit of a copout for such a thought-provoking, medium challenging series to end like this. But then, I felt this third season was somewhat lackluster overall, so when I say it could have been worse, that is meant entirely complimentary. I will definitely miss the psychic dance offs and rap battles.

Did anyone else feel like there were a few too many false positives this season? It's admittedly been a while since I last watched seasons 1-3 of VM, but I don't recall Veronica and Keith going back and forth between so many different rabbit holes before? The "is he/isn't he" with Pizza Guy in the last episode alone was a bit much, not to mention adding in all the calls to the chief of police that ended up being incorrect.

I'm really enjoying the season so far, but I have to say, I am finding it a bit odd that they revealed that Clyde and Big Dick were responsible for at least one bombing- essentially "offscreen" to the audience, while our titular heroine and her father are still going back and forth trying to solve this thing. There is obviously a lot going on, and I don't think that's the end of the story, but it feels weird to be one step ahead of our protagonists. (I also think they are spending entirely too much time with the Pizza Guy and his "murderhead" buddies, but that's another thing altogether.) I need to go back and comment on earlier episodes, but this was just so jarring to me that I had to chime in on it.

Silly me. I thought Darcy was dumping Don E. because she saw just how callously he regards almost all other people. But no, it was just because she was worried he'd only be that way in regards to her when she died. I am not at all impressed with her character. At least Don E. is enjoyably consistent in his immoral cynicism. Having Liv act the way she was "because of the brain" is such a transparently over the top attempt at humor in this episode more than many; I find it really hard to believe that Chisel acted that way in real life. (Then again, I always thought it would be kind of funny to have a "narrative noir" day where I'd talk about myself in first person all day just for giggles.) The call out to Mickey Spillane ("Spill Lane") was kind of cute.

This. The only thing missing was the declaratively angry, "Are you as turned on as I am?" "More!" kiss between Hopper and Joyce. 🙄

There is way too much shticky bickering and slapstick humor with Hopper and Joyce this season. Sad that these characters have been reduced to comedic relief. I mean, Joyce always had moments like this in prior seasons, but this is over the top.

I'm feeling a bit of a disconnect. On the one hand, I'm enjoying the season more thus far than S2 (which I still think dropped the ball big time by keeping some of the main characters away from one another until the finale), on the other hand, it feels a bit superficial to me. We're getting kind of one-dimensional, caricaturesque bits rather than real moments, for the most part. The girl montage; the boys trying to buy a gift; the conniving mayor; the nervous father; etc. A lot of them (esp. in Ep1) are even just homages to classic 80's movies like Fast Times and Ridgemont High, devoid of any real meaning without the context of those films. There are a lot of good ideas- like Elle's first experience with the mall and a girl friend; but they aren't really allowed to breathe and come to life. The best "real" moments so far are with Dustin, Steve, and Robin.

I'm sure it's happened before, but I'm really having a hard time recalling when the mystery of the week seemed so completely lost and extraneous to everything else going on in the story. They could have easily jettisoned the Pageant Girl plot and I literally would only have wondered why Clive was not in the episode. They are really rushing through things this season. I understand why, but it makes for a very unsteady storyline.

Especially considering her state of mind leading up to the attack. Yes, they still don't have any proof that Salinger killed Dorothy, but Trish's belief that he did would be something for a defense attorney to argue on her behalf.* I also found the idea of three stray hairs on the dead kid's body somehow being a smoking gun to pinning his death on Salinger. They were close friends when he was alive, I'm sure his defense attorney could argue away their presence. I like the idea of making Jessica face a moral dilemma here, but it feels a little forced. I think they could have found a better way to reach this goal. And I'm still having a hard time empathizing with the self-righteous, angry, character they've turned Trish into. *I am not a lawyer, so maybe this doesn't really matter when it comes to her sentencing or jury's possible verdict.

I believe (someone can correct me if I'm wrong) that he may be doing behind the camera work these days, in addition to other on-screen roles he has taken. I do recall hearing that he has a personally re-edited version of the Star Wars prequels that is highly regarded and he shares with friends. (And I've been dying to see for years.)

I liked this episode up until Ashley, Too came to life, and then it took a turn that was a bit too comedic for my liking. It wasn't awful, and I think there were some interesting things to say about digital recreations of living or formerly living people (see also: Star Wars), and the value of human life and creative content, but I felt they got somewhat lost under a humorous turn. (I also thought Ashley, too had a more obnoxious "real" personality than Ashley O did.)

I loved this episode. I can understand criticisms that it didn't seem to tread new ground, that it was just about cell phone addiction, etc., but to me, that was actually the least poignant commentary the episode was trying to make. I thought it was more about the dehumanization that seems to (maybe? maybe not?) come with technology. Here you have Chris, a man with a guilty conscience because he feels his own cell phone "addiction" led to his wife's death. Would it have made any difference if he'd not looked away from the road for those few precious seconds? Chris (and the audience) will never know, but he only blames himself- not the drunk driver. Yet for all that he now despises the addictiveness of phones and social media, he can't bring himself to open up about his guilt to anyone in real life- only a figure he has never met across the vast gulf of our telecommunications web. He can only see a way to confession via an elaborate plot to kidnap a faceless minion to put him in touch with that CEO. Ironically, though, for all that he feels his addiction caused him to lose touch with the world enough to cause him to lose the one person in it that made living worthwhile, his possibly last wish is to do something kind to help another person with their own pain. Albeit with her never knowing who helped her, or why. Meanwhile, you have: kids on their smart devices making a tense situation worse by mindlessly tweeting/posting images and conclusions without context over social media; millions of uninvolved persons perpetuating those tweets- adding their own inane commentary, or sometimes not paying more attention than the half second it takes to acknowledge the message. You have Corporate Honchos scrutinizing social media accounts to develop a profile of the kidnapper, in hopes of coldly concocting a method to delay him in order for the authorities to take charge. You have a hostage negotiator using same information to hastily develop his own profile of the perpetrator, possibly because he wants to put a notch in his own social status by talking the man down. You have trigger happy SWAT (or British equivalent) ready to take this guy out at the first clean shot. But nobody actually wants to talk directly to the very real human being in the middle of all of this. (I'll add here that the hostage also seems to be almost an afterthought to everyone, save as an obstacle to work around.) Then you have the CEO of Smithereen, by his own admission a virtual prisoner in a world he helped create but has little control over any longer. And he is- notably- on a retreat from that very same digital world; his only escape is the Catch-22 of removing himself from the rest of dehumanized humanity. I came into this episode with my own preconceived notions and baggage which undoubtedly lead to my different perceptions of its message from those of others on here. So maybe this episode is just reverberating within my own echo chamber differently; maybe it was just the incredible performance by Andrew Scott (whose Moriarty I only loved about 1/2 the time; when he wasn't being over the top), or by Topher Grace's exasperation and panicked confession of loss of control; whatever of the above, I loved the heck out of this episode and it ranks up there among my favorite BM's to date. (And the irony that I find myself communicating all of this information to faceless people across the digital divide is not at all lost on me. 😉)

I liked that story Blaine told about how he's been affected by the needs of the public over his service providing brains and getting sentimental about it. David Anders really sold me on believing that Blaine might truly feel like he's a better person because of it. Too bad all of that took place off-camera in some other storyline, rather than just being thrown in this episode. I think that could have been a great story for Blaine (and Anders) who has really just been poorly served for the last couple of seasons as the writers desperately try to find a place for the character on the show. Really, he should have been written out a couple of seasons ago because he is a reprehensible killer and his crimes are well documented to all the good guys on the show. Either give him a redeemable (if doomed to tragedy) storyline, or get rid of him. It just wastes DA's talent and time, and makes the main characters look like idiots for not putting him behind bars by now. Otherwise, this episode was the best of the season so far, IMO.