Potanical Pardon

I like Curtis. And I like Mr. Terrific. But Curtis is a horrible Mr. Terrific. Mr. Terrific is supposed to be the third smartest person in the world...and I'm guessing second in this one since the Luthors are over on another Earth. Actually, what's the status on Batfam? Maybe he's the smartest person on Earth Arrow. Curtis is definitely not. Aside from that part, Curtis is way too neurotic and fanboy, though to be fair, the show did give him an entirely different first name so maybe he's not the guy. What's weird is that before action-adventure Curtis of this season, he actually DID come across as Mr. Terrific-esque. It wasn't until his cool, calm, and collected demeanor even if at times was self-deprecating got axed in that episode where he finds out Ollie is the Green Arrow that he got super annoying.

They can say that, but honestly, the comic version lends itself to being able to say that. The comic version doesn't have any revealed identity. The only for sure about him is that he's basically an evil Batman and instead of being orphaned/having his origin rooted in his parents murdered by criminals, Prometheus' parents were murdered by cops. Other than that, he's supposed to be Batman-level intelligent and covered his tracks so well that characters and readers have no idea who he really is. The show, Arrow, has pretty much been a Batman TV show but trying super hard to use Green Arrow and his rogues when they can, but if not, fit in looser Batman characters and stories. Even comic Green Arrow was considered a knock-off of Batman in the early days before the 70s got a hold of redefining him. If they're going to name the character, Prometheus, and basically give him Ollie/archer skills, that's about as in-line with the comics version as you can get with mirroring Bruce/Batman. Aside from the Batman stuff, Cry for Justice definitely makes Prometheus have a GA family tie. And . Rats. You're right. Hmm.

I'm convinced Susan is Prometheus now. Not just a rebound love-interest for lazy writing any more. Yes, the vodka bottle did it for me, but it really just made me think back to all the rest of the season already and where/what she's been doing - always late/early, out of breath, no explanations, really. My only issue with a reveal is the canon Prometheus. We're not supposed to know who he/she is. It can still go that way. There's definitely Prometheus stories where an identity or revelation happens only to have the real Prometheus show up and be even more terrifying and amazing. Or she's the genuine Prometheus, we just never find out her real name, just that she's some Claybourne bastard. That set up of having all the dead cops at that address and Claybourne getting shot by Ollie into the pool is totally the origin while somehow also having to parallel Ollie's dad's death which I haven't figured out yet other than getting shot and falling into water part. Prometheus probably gets the same book of names thing right before Ollie kills Claybourne and ventures off to have her own series of training adventures. Maybe she even just found out her true heritage and Ollie interrupted getting-to-know-dad time.

I'm all for killing Iris just so that we could hopefully get They could totally do all of these in a multiple periods of time that we're following, sort of way, like Arrow only successfully did with Season 1 which would do some major fleshing out of the Flash mythos. I hope all of Jay Garrick's info-dumping means that we'll get to see Max Mercury soon and that maybe he's tied into Savitar's history.

The aliens are blaming Barry for Flashpoint, because that is Barry's fault. The changes that we've seen in all of the shows this season may or may not be related to Flashpoint. Stein's daughter most definitely did not happen after Flashpoint. Aside from us seeing that Stein's headaches started after he met up with his younger self, from that point in time in the 80s, anything could have changed, including things that we have already seen air. In the present timeline we're operating from, Lily was definitely born before Nora died and subsequently the point in time when Barry returned from Flashpoint, and all the other timelines created by all the Reverse Flashes and Barry's that keep coming back to that point. There is no definitive proof that Baby Sara/John, dead Dante and other changes had to be Barry. When Reverse Flash returned Barry from Flashpoint, the biggest difference in the timeline changing at this point was that Reverse Flash time-traveled again to return Barry to the present day after re-killing his mother...instead of pre-Flashpoint Reverse Flash who faded away like unconscious Barry, who presumably both ended up going to Flashpoint still for that loop and everything happening in this new timeline to exist; that fading away was the show acknowledging this new timeline branching off while the Flashpoint timeline fades into not existing in the same time-space. The Dominators being pissed off at Barry for Flashpoint is just that; they're mad because someone on Earth had uber powers that could do that emerge. They weren't mad because he time travelled. The Legends time traveling because of this Invasion arc's team-up must have always happened as part of a loop, and yet the Dominators weren't mad about the time-traveling nature of that, they were upset because again superpowers on Earth that could threaten them in the future. Time-travel itself isn't a difficult concept to grasp, especially if copious attention and mental/written notes are given to it. These DC TV shows are a testament to neither - they constantly have plot holes in their handling of time and consequences. That said, each instance of time-travel in these stories, we give them the benefit of the doubt that they paid attention to the rules, until they blatantly haven't. Biggest example: They still haven't explained all of Season 1. Eobard was stopped in the finale by Eddie killing himself. OKAY, that makes sense. BUT. An Eobard still had to have been born in a timeline where Eddie did not kill himself in order to go back in time to kill Nora and have every event that occurred happen in Season 1, meaning that Eddie killing himself should not have erased that Eobard. It should have only erased the Eobard from the Season 1 timeline. It's been ignored completely in Season 2 and now, but logically can still be explained and fixed with characters capable of it...my guess being the Eobard running around right now and through time in Legends who never became Wells and even alluded to the passed out Barry on the front porch in the first episode this season that he figured out something esoteric. Season 3 timeline still requires an Eobard to have become Wells and we still haven't seen who that is. Most likely, the writers are going to go the easy route and have the Legends explain the plot hole of Seasons 1 and 2 Eobard unable to time-travel, though this one can, by removing that ability and then dropping him off in the street in front of the Allen house. Anyway, the point where Barry returned to the present after Flashpoint should not have had that many alterations as to what transpired in Season 2. That timeline should be for the most part intact as the main changes all occurred local to the Allen house, just like when Barry went back there another time to shake his head at another Barry not to save his mom. Most of the changes in Season 3 should be the results of some other event. 80's Stein having a kid definitely qualifies, current Eobard jumping around time is also highly likely, or some other not yet revealed transaction with time.

You know, it's entirely possible that Flashpoint didn't cause any of the changes but that Stein having a daughter did. How does anyone know for sure it was Barry now?

Sure, why not? Give Barry another Wally villain. And a Jay villain. It's fine in the comics with all the numerous speedsters because they all have distinct personalities. It's boring as hell on the show because they're all the same with Reverse Flash being a notch above only because the show says so. This show needs to grasp how the speedsters don't become redundant and unoriginal. For the villain speedsters they simply need motives that aren't the same as a VOTW and integrated as far as relationships go with The Flash's everyday everything instead of popping in and out to deliver a monologue and randomly terrorize the public. No! There actually is a "Godspeed" speedster character. Don't remind the writers there's still yet another unused one available!

I wonder if the suit getting destroyed is all part of Ray getting a more comics and lore belt/powers and less Iron-Man one. I hope.

Where is it? I'll go back and watch it.

FWIW, Earth-19 is the Steampunk DC Universe, not that this show follows the Earth numbers correctly at all anyways.

She definitely grew on me, but no I just can't. For me, there's no coming back from these: Strike 1: "Look at me, I'm from NYC, namedrop, namedrop, namedrop." I've lived in Manhattan, I cannot stand these transplants/people. Strike 2: Cultural insensitivity with the monks. Strike 3: Cultural insensitivity/superiority with all the rewards. It's worse because she's exactly that kind of person that purports to be so sophisticated and cultured. I always picture in my head one of those old-timey Tarzan movies. She's totally that Euro aristocracy that travels just so they can brag that they traveled wherever and have such insight and experience, show up and have dinner with Tarzan and totally ridicule he and his savage ways.

Amanda's a really great player. Don't know if she plays again, but I want her to win one. I liked her in China, liked her gameplay in Micronesia, but would definitely hate her in real life. That said, she is by far the most beautiful contestant in all the seasons that I've seen. Trying not to sound too shallow here, but there are definitely pretty and "hot" ones, as far as the looks that they're personally going after...these are all replicatable. She's her own level of stunning. Her performances are great, but her crying thing is dumb and insulting; I can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but there is a huge major flaw that burned her both final TCs as far as public speaking. You can see the pageant-training with the answers, and she is naturally intelligent, but she screws herself up with the pouts and overacting. She used the sad act and pouts to perfection during those blindsides, so it's like why is that done so well, and then later on she's terrible at it.

This season was a chore, but I liked Kenny and Sugar. I really don't like this trend I'm noticing in surrounding seasons of the faux-yuppie-cool-kid bullies aghast and feigning betrayal and innocence retaliating against the final players who outsmarted their dumb asses. These hypocrites are only so pure because they didn't last long enough to implement their own scheme.

In my binging...I fell asleep at part 1 of the merge where Joe is put out of the game and there are a thousand different schemes intertwining with each other because these people are idiots and more paranoid than I've seen yet in a season. The stream played on and then I woke up at the finale and felt like I didn't miss a thing. Coach is the worst. I cannot, cannot, cannot stand self-deluded full of shit narcissistic people who you cannot talk to at all but are forced to be around. It's torturous! Those people are the worst in the world. You try to ignore them, avoid them and yet they keep returning into your orbit somehow because they reinsert themselves into interactions forcibly by annoying/fucking something up so that you have to bring it up. They're never to blame for anything, have experienced everything, and know everything. But what makes these kinds of people in the world the worst is their lies. Not that they lie, but that every person in the room knows that they're lying. They commit to the lie no matter how absurd as if they completely believe their own bullshit, but you know that that can't be true...where it's way more important for them to validate their nonexistent awesomey awesomeness with unbelievable tall tales because it's the only self-esteem booster they have due to loneliness since every other human being on the planet avoids the shit out of them. That is incredibly infuriating and insulting to everyone's intelligence. Especially when these delusions are followed up with dismissiveness of anything anyone would bring up who then realize "OMG, I am so exhausted from putting all that righteous anger and frustration into arguing and ended up nowhere at all. I wasted so much time, voice is gone now, blood pressure went up, and I've ultimately gained nothing."

This season seemed boring at first and then the back half was like YES! YES! YES! And then came the end. WOW. What an utter piece of shit. That just made Puck and Omarosa look like saints. I had plenty of people in this season already to hate, especially Alex and the rest of the Four Horseshits. One thing that confused me: Everyone's beef with Boo. Maybe the instances all happened when I was looking away doing something else. I didn't notice him talking so much to annoy anyone. I barely saw him talk at all! I never got why anyone was threatened by him being a powerful player or even being abrasive/bossy/scheming. Dude seemed like a totally chill and calm guy. The worst thing I could see was maybe his side-looks of judgment which is nothing. I don't understand why people really thought that they couldn't trust him. Of all the contestants in this season, and he and Stacy were the concerns? Really? People tried turning Cassandra. I'd say everyone had a convo with her at some point to switch alliances. Why did she, Michelle, Stacy, pretty much 2/3 of the cast seem like good ideas to try and swing over Boo? I was really surprised at Boo's Christian-speak in the Jury finally speaks part. Came out of nowhere. I agreed with him totally and the passion behind it except for the Jesus angle. Where the hell did that come from? Haha. Okay, I guess.

I think that probably plays a role overall in most reality shows. I'm not sure about real life, maybe it is and I'm the weirdo. I'm Asian-American and my comfort level in every situation my entire life has never depended on if someone looked like me or not upon first meeting them. If discomfort is a thing that other people felt because I didn't look like them, that's something I do have experience with getting that particular vibe from, but that's usually when in a sea of the public like a grocery store or event among strangers. About 99.999999999% of the time if I'm actually meeting/interacting with people towards a purpose, getting that same sort of vibe doesn't happen. That could also mean I'm unaware of any prevalence; I really don't think it's happening, though. Growing up and going to the occasional event, party or whatever involving friends of my parents from the motherlands and even their kids never felt like I don't know...anything compelling of any bond-sharing relatability. Speaking of, relatability, I believe is a somewhat foreign concept to me. What I used to call relatable for most of my life, I discovered was really just empathy or familiarity. It wasn't until the second or third year of my relationship with my then-girlfriend-now-wife who is white and observing and noticing this phenomenon (to me) that she exhibited of seeing herself in fictional characters - movies, tv, books, comics, whatever. The signs are bias and rationalization for or towards certain circumstances or people that overlap with hers superficially. I've never really experienced that or noticed that I wasn't experiencing something like that; if I like the characters or story, details and aesthetics...I'm pretty much basing it on their own merits. With her, I've noticed she mostly does only once committed to a narrative/subject/whatever. She actually has to see herself represented in a comfort way, somehow to get invested, though not necessarily consciously with specificity. I pointed it out to her and she admits to not being really aware that she's doing it, but that she agrees that she's definitely doing it. Totally weird to me to this day.

Never watched or followed a single anything Survivor until 4 days ago getting pulled in by the Gen X vs. Millennials gimmick. Seeing those few episodes made me curious about more and noticed my Amazon Prime subscription has a ton of seasons available starting with Season 12 as far as sequential seasons. Watched S12 where it was coincidentally a similar concept to the current season except 10 years ago and I'd say they so far seem comparable in quality. Then I started and just completed Season 13. Again, I consciously avoided everything/anything Survivor for it's entire existence. I have no clue about locations, best/worst seasons, contestants, everything. All I ever knew before was the show existed and was like the start of a surge of reality TV, and shared the same producer as The Apprentice. So Season 13 starts and the second the season theme was introduced my eyes popped out of my eyes. I was like "NO!" They couldn't possibly have had a collection of people in a room that agreed that race wars would be a fantastic idea. I was instantly in for the ridiculous and discomfort that would have to happen. No shortage of facepalm moments and I was surprisingly pleased at many, many subtle moments...some poignant, others innocuous, but they were there. I did cringe any time a member of any minority group had to be forced to make actual commentary about it like an ambassador. One of my biggest pet peeves in life. I'm a minority and absolutely fucking hate the presumption that I am a representative of anything/anyone/anyplace and have to answer or address everything ever through such a lens. Or even avoid answering or addressing everything through the same lens. Like the thought of "oh shit I'm talking about such-and-such or whatever, but because I am of this particular category, my audience now perceives my message and the motivation for it a particular way instead of just being simply just mine and only my sole take; I'm only speaking for myself but you can see it on their faces the acknowledgment of the opposite. Anyways, this blew away Season 12 for me. I hated Candice from the very start. Coupling/PDA already gets you on my dislike list, but her initial first return from Exile Island and her distance-y/avoiding non-committal answers, body language, eyes and other cues made me read: shady, shady two-faced bitch who thinks politeness, speaking calm and smiling/pouting hides her disdain, smugness, dismissiveness of anyone perceived outside of her superior societal status. I know it's been ten years now, so maybe she's better, but I doubt it. Just like I doubt she ever proceeded to Medical School. Still, a very memorable cast and I enjoyed more than half of them. I cannot believe I actually rooted for people in something and they won! That almost never happens with me and competitive reality or even awards shows.

I didn't hear one utterance of "barista". Much, much better.

I've only seen the pilot and the Flash crossover episodes from season 1. Neither made me want to watch more last year. Tried this out guessing that there would be some kind of soft reboot/reset and it did feel like a different show than what I remember watching before. The episode was okay and it succeeded in bringing me back for more. The CG of Martian Manhunter and anyone flying looks bad, but I'll just have to get over it. I DO NOT like the actor playing Clark/Superman. I've never seen him in anything before and have nothing against him. But that is neither Clark nor Superman. The shallow part is the teeth, but it's really mannerisms. All the past live-action Superman (and Superboy) actors have something even if they're different takes on the character that makes me see Superman. This guy, though, feels like he's a different character acting how he thinks Superman would act. And Clark Kent too. There's bits and pieces taken from previous Superman portrayals in this depiction and I don't feel like he's adding anything of his own. I can get over the weird super-suspenders, he and Cavill's receding hairlines and most other physical attributes except the teeth. I just keep staring at them. I dunno, he just feels more like a Betaman...like a bro who doesn't want anyone to think he's a bro and compensates with showing being chill about as much as possible. Reading the above comments about Supergirl/Kara not knowing who she is or what she wants to be isn't just unique to this show. The character's publishing history is pretty void of anything uniquely her own. Kara Zor-El literally is just a derivative Superman. The Helen Slater whackadoo movie is the closest thing to Kara having anything her own in the mythos. Silver Banshee comes close but not exactly. She was created and written mostly to be cutesadorbs 24/7. Her strongest portrayal occurred when she had to die. I appreciate the difficulty the writers must have in essentially fleshing out the character. Past attempts have been okay at best. Smallville's was good for those small doses. The comics have so-far tried angtsy and rage to give her personality but those are just *shakes head*. My main fear for this season feels like it's not only borrowing Superman, but it feels like it's borrowing Superman stories because there really isn't much in the source material to pull from. Lots of things published, but really nothing...unless they pull from Power Girl or Linda Danvers-Supergirl (Best. Supergirl. Ever.) The threat to Lena Luthor's life on a plane where she comes out smelling like roses - straight out of Superman's debut and Lex in the 80s. Metallo being an early villain to grow along with Superman's learning on the job. Project Cadmus...zip to do with Supergirl; everything to do with Superboy/Superman. I swear, J'onn J'onzz feels more like a different green non-human, Dubilex. Someone's going to have to explain to me why he's going by "Hank Henshaw." Being an investigative reporter...but I have a feeling they're going to borrow from recent Superman comics and have her eager at the whole reporter thing and then discover the current state of publishing, the bureaucracy and politics and go start a blog that blows up into a weird Drudge-Wikileaks-Politico hybrid.

I'm still wondering what happened to this new timeline's Harrison Wells. I'm also still wondering how Thawne was able to jump back in time carrying Barry from Flashpoint timeline AND jumping forward in time to now when that Thawne is supposed to not be able to to time-jump anymore...which was why he killed Wells, face-changed and had to wait for Barry to grow up, become The Flash and run around in the collider. I'm glad Barry's getting called out on his crap, though. And I'm hoping Thawne's inside-joke has something to do with all these timejumps having to happen to explain away how he exists even though for some reason Eddie shooting himself made that Thawne disappear. And whatever this is should also explain how the Thawne that killed Barry's mom existed from a timeline where Barry became The Flash in 2020 or whatever year it was which may or may not have had a dead Nora. I also still want to know why Barry in only the Flashpoint Universe had those speed-headaches. And why it doesn't happen with him, Thawne, Jay Garrick and whoever else has timehopped through the Speed Force (I'll grant Legends of Tomorrow a pass). And why it's not happening to him now. And why the hell would altering timelines suddenly cause the current timeline's residents to acquire Flashpoint timeline's superpowers if they had them there? I can buy the logic of it happening now since this is the point in time over there Barry and Thawne left; fine, that explains the convenience for the story. Flashpoint Wally got his powers from the lightning and I guess the same chemical bath Barry had except they were all in his car. Whatever, but okay. And Caitlyn got her powers from...the accelerator over there? I'm all for the lightning being the real factor in both Wally and Barry as that is the comics' reason, and the chemical bath or in the show's case chemical bath/accelerator being the catalyst for them, while Jesse and other speedsters access to the Speed Force is by other means, but an accelerator in the Flashpoint timeline is the only non-messy way I can think of to tie in Barry inadvertently to the people who are now going to start showing up with powers.

"You're a lot dumber than future you." - Eobard Thawne Word, Professor Zoom. How many years have to go by before this Barry magically grows a brain capable of outwitting Thawne? They really need to make a story out of this; maybe with Grodd involved because it just doesn't make sense that this Barry Allen is THE Barry Allen...one that doesn't need a team of enablers to steer him into making the correct decisions somehow. But then if we ever got that Barry, we would have to get rid of Harrison Wells. Was Joe involved in the Harrison Wells and wife murder scene investigation? The only thing I can think of that altered this timeline for an estranged Iris is that we saw the Thawne who masquerades as Harrison Wells fade away. I have no idea why that would happen but whatever, okay so caged!Thawne made it so Barry never took Thawne to Flashpoint, thus fading away...gah! So stupid. This makes no sense because then caged!Thawne wouldn't exist to stop.... Okay, in my head cannon caged!Thawne returns himself and Barry JUST to re-murder Nora. Then once they're done, they go back to the present...who the fuck knows how THAT Thawne knows when to exactly return Barry, but whatever. The point is, there is still no Thawne in the past to go murder Wells and wife and take his place. If none of that crap happens, we're supposed to have Barry become the Flash in 2020, but he's not now, so something else had to have happened to make Barry become the Flash earlier than he's supposed to again. E2 Wells and Jesse are conveniently shelved in E2, so this new timeline could involve real!Wells as Barry's mentor like in the ORIGINAL timeline that we never saw and have had things happen seasons 1 and 2, similar enough to lead us to where we are now. Season 1 would have to be the most different as there's no Thawne-Wells. Eddie would have to be alive, unless they couldn't get the actor back and he died some other random way...but no he's alive, because Thawne exists. Anywho, Season 2 could have E1Wells and E2Wells teaming up together, which makes that season the easiest to not really change anything with. But yeah, the only thing I can think of to butterfly Iris and Joe on the outs has to somehow relate to Wells' history now different. Maybe this difference also butterflies into how Wally's around without an Iris to bring Joe and Wally together. Maybe the mom didn't die, or she did some other way so Wally's been around forever in the new timeline.

Weakest episode of this season. The Misty stuff was the worst kind of filler.

Like the show but the last few episodes felt like a chore. I wish Cottonmouth was this season's big bad just because of the superior actor. Mariah is fine, but I just don't like Diamondback's motive and pretty much everything about him. I have no idea how someone as emotional as him got to where he is. I think we're supposed to assume Matthew Murdock will be his attorney, but the way Daredevil season 2 played out, I'd much rather Night Nurse refer Luke to Foggy or even his girlfriend. I had to giggle at the Rocky V fight, with all the crowd "Ohhh!"'s.

Yeah, I still don't get how the same people behind Fringe were behind the Transformers movies. Does not compute.