Miss Dee

Justin Hartley broke me. I thought he rocked everything and I'm so glad he got a chance to show off his chops tonight. The football field and Charlotte's house have been mentioned, but another moment where I thought he did a fantastic job was staring at his old house. He looked so broken.

Honestly, I can see where people might come back to the Flash because now there's an explanation on why the writing for women is subpar even compared to other shows in the Arrowverse. Before some people were like "God, they're clueless and never gonna get it; I'm out." But now there's a hope that maybe just the showrunner was clueless and the rest might be fine, once they're in a position to make their voices heard. ETA: Can't wait to see what Mickname Rory comes up with for Iris. It's funny; I was reading an article about the teamups the author would most like to see in the Arrowverse, and Iris/Mick was among the few named because of how their personalities would click/clash. There's no love lost between Barry and Mick, so I'm kind of hoping Iris and Mick like and respect each other, just to mess with his head.

I'm not judging anyone in the Arrowverse for not speaking out. They may not be able to do so for legal reasons if they're one of the whistleblowers; they make feel ineloquent and unable to do justice in written form (even if they're being awesomely supportive in person behind the scenes), and are waiting to get their statements vetted or are eschewing them altogether; they may be dealing with emotions of their own based on past experiences and aren't ready to speak publically. Yes, even some of those big, strong men. If Terry Crews can be sexually assaulted despite his size and strength, anyone can. Basically my feelings are this: --It is awesome when the actors and other influential people speak out. I hope they live up to their commitment of being vigilant and ensuring they don't contribute to or support these toxic work environments. --Those people don't owe me a damn thing. They are not required to make a public show of their fealty to a professional environment so I can mentally check them off some list in my head as to whether they're a sexual abuse victim/perpetrator or not. Whatever their reasons for speaking out or not speaking out, it's their own, and I'm not going to castigate them for exercising their right to stay silent.

Grace right now is a harder role to play than any of the others, so I don't envy Debra Messing. I agree the problem is the writers' concept of Grace in her 40s. What is endearingly childlike or neurotic in your 20s just becomes pathetic in your 40s. Will always had a tad more maturity than the other 3 and Karen and Jack were more cartoons than real characters, which is why these three are less affected by the time jump. The writers need to go back to the drawing board and come up with a realistic version of Grace in her 40s - stop I Love Lucy-ing her and think how you can re-envision her as a woman starting over again with some disappointments behind her. Turn a bug into a feature and have her examine why she's reverting back into old habits around Will and how she can balance her need for their friendship with the growth and maturity she needs at this stage in her life.

I agree the rapid changes in showrunners has really done a negative number on this show. Of course, thanks to recent days, I'm now prone to look at all cast/crew/boss shakeups with a jaundiced eye. Is it really for storytelling reasons, or something else? What saved this episode for me was Gregory Freakin' Smith. My God, he's so good. He was the only reason I could swallow the ending at all.

I did, I saw it on Twitter or Reddit (can't remember which).

Jax and Amaya would be my picks for the Riker to Sara's Picard. Actually, it'd be: Sara = Picard (leadership) Amaya = Riker (apprentice leader, practical experience) Jax = Geordi (engineer) Mick = Worf (weapons, security/protect the crew) Ray = Data (technology, innovative thinking, innocent) Stein = Crusher (fatherly demeanor, does medical stuff) Nate = Troi (emotionally aware, stronger in humanities like art and history than science)

Jem's songs KICKED ASS.

I did too - it was from one of those clickbait sites, and I didn't see anything on it since, so I wondered if it was misinformation. It should be interesting. We the audience know the fire that burned Mick's parents was accidental - he was guilty of not obeying the rules about lighting fires and running away. But I'm not sure anyone else does and we know Mick encourages that story himself as proof of his psychotic nature. Will this episode start to walk that back? And what kind of people were Mick's parents? Yeah I'm looking forward to this one.

@Danielg342, they also made it really clear that Jim made a devil's bargain to end up with the captain position. He's not the white knight riding to Gotham's rescue here. Harvey told him he'd better be prepared to pay the price when it comes due because "nothing in Gotham is free". And at the end, Jim flat out confesses that he stabbed his partner in the back.

No worries! Not your fault I live out in the sticks. :)

That fanwank works for me.

Grodddammit, I guess I know one spoiler for Ragnarok. I hate living out in the boonies - I won't get to see it for another 2-3 weeks, after a 4-hour drive....

Aw, Gideon, you don't like Mick? Now why you gotta be like that?? Another interview mentioned an episode that happened entirely aboard the ship with no time travel. It sounds as though it could be this "frozen crew" storyline. Wonder how they get Gideon in the flesh? Maybe they'll put holo-transmitters all over the Waverider, courtesy of Ray Palmer....

Trevor was on fire with the jokes last night. Loved the recurring callback to the Hot Pockets.

I didn't realize how invested I was in Bughead until they were both near tears in the diner, wishing they could run away together. Damn, but I like those two actors and how they spark as two of the truly good people in Riverdale. Knew the breakup was coming but it was more "star-crossed lovers" than I had expected. Going to run to the spoiler thread now to see just how bad it's going to get. LOL Archie - you're supposed to break up with Jughead in such a way that Betty can walk it back; the minute you hear "Southside Serpent" you lose it and go scorched earth instead. You are the very definition of "goober".

Not much to say that hasn't already been said, but: I genuinely love the take-no-prisoners zany /silly comedy approach this show takes - they do it better than any other network drama right now, I think - but I also love it when they dial it back a bit and get more serious without dropping all the lighthearted moments. I really liked the different pairings this time. Ray and Jax have a buddy-buddy chemistry I didn't expect that's different from either bromantic Ray/Nate or odd-couplish Ray/Mick, and I hope to see more of it. I also got into Amaya and Zari; I thought they had loads of chemistry and expect fans are building an "Amari" ship as we speak, which will set sail before too long. Oh Mick. Aside from looking totes adorbs in your reading glasses, I am 1) "shook", as the kids say, that you are not actually illiterate like I thought but are capable of reading novels written before the turn of the century - so what's this memory thing you have with verbal expression again? And 2), I'm highly indignant the show left us on a cliffhanger of whether or not you finished the last page. Need the important questions answered, writers!! I completely identified with him; I too have been known to ignore looming disaster because I'm trying to get the damn book read. Priorities. I hope to get an actual Ray/Mick-focused plot at some point this season, but meanwhile I'm grateful for the little nuggets sprinkled in the last 3 episodes. Ray, buddy, I predict Mick will eventually either solicit or accept your overtures of (platonic) physical affection. That's the way it goes with male/male friendships of this nature. B.A. and Murdock; Riggs and Murtaugh... the emotionally-distant one crumbles and bridges the gap when faced with the depth of their regard, sooner or later. ETA: You have no idea - NO IDEA - how much bullshit writing I would accept if it meant the Legends rescuing Abbie Mills from Pandora's Box and giving her a permanent place on the Waverider. NO IDEA. Abbie, if it sweetens the deal, they happen to know another time-displaced Englishman with an appreciation for kickass women who uses his arcane knowledge of history to accomplish his mission....

Someone speculated on the A.V. Club that Mallus could end up being Rip himself. That'd be trippy.

Some thread titles to add after "Ray Palmer/The Atom:" --The Eternal Optimist --Boy All the Bad Boys Want --Huggable Genius

One thing I like about your reviews Kathemy is how you never fail to give David Mazouz his due. I read elsewhere on how people think he's a shitty actor, and I wonder where the hell their brain cells have gone.

I've decided to stop worrying and love the bomb when it comes to political references on this show. They're going to do it, I might as well turn it into a game and hope they go as broad and anvilly as possible. This makes it a lot easier to swallow. Laughed my ass off at how they managed to work in "Lock her up."

As long as Noble is not Rip's time-displaced son, I'm in.

@quarks, as the only "out" shipper of Ray and Mick on the Legends boards, I feel your pain. I promise to trust that you're a very thoughtful and intelligent person with a lot of sense that just happens to get a kick out of imagining a very unlikely pairing on a specific show, if you'll do the same for me. (I swear in my case it's, like, 90% true.) And "friends turned lovers" is also my shipping Kryptonite...and how I ended up with my husband, so yeah, really soft spot for that. I see how other people see the sexual chemistry between Kara and Lena; I just don't feel it myself. I do think they emphasized the "family" angle quite hard in this episode. Although I got a chuckle out of how just after they all declare themselves sisters, Alex calls and Kara is like "Yep, gotta go." There's family, and then there's family.

I'm sorry, I did have intelligent thoughts about this episode, and then my brain melted at the sight of Shirtless James. Daammmnnn.

I absolutely loved Lucifer's platonic relationships in this episode. Him in a Snuggie eating ice cream dishing with Candy was absolutely sublime. I had no idea there was zero sex with him and Candy when they started. And Ella is like his little sister. He didn't even react to Hot Ella and Hot Candy embracing on the street. Lucifer, bro, you're already lost. I also adored Chloe in this one - she gets to have a B-plot that is about her and not her police job, which I liked. And the last scene with Lucifer and Chloe - "asleep" and awake - was beautiful. I normally stick to my crackships but I kinda fell for this one with that ending shot. Ellis really needs to sing more.