Actionmage

Break Away-- Thea from Arrow, Christy from Mom, Kate Harrison (Malin Akerman) from Trophy Mom and Virginia Chance from Raising Hope. They are ladies who could use a break and time from their unique family situations. Plus they potentially have supportive advice for the others. Their Netflix and chill time could be hilarious though.

But he didn't. Our current Barry was the one who punched out Reverse Flash and saw his S1 self in the doorway. Barry stood there gaping in the middle of the living room as S1/Doorway Barry faded away. If what you mean is that Barry has to go back a third time to fix this? This is not a Barry Allen I can enjoy. I kind of wish I knew whether it was a DC fiat, a CW fiat or a Geoff Johns fiat that Barry is written as stupidly dumb. I know that TPTB over on Arrow have stated that they like to torment Oliver and their favorite Oliver is Dumb Oliver, so I wonder.

::hopes Thea can find a cool 1 bedroom apartment that looks just like a former PA of Cat Grant's:: ( What? It's a cute set.)

But Nyssa al Ghul disbanded the League of Assassins. Still, Malcolm probably has a mansion somewhere sunny where he can "train" his new "daughter" into the "shape" he thinks she needs to be in.

I am not sure how I feel overall about the episode. The Diggle beats, though? Got me every inch of the way. What I love is Lyla. For a second, I thought it was Laurel/ Laurel's ghost coming to talk to Oliver, but it was Felicity. Russia for Season 5 flashbacks! Speaking of flashbacks, Cynthia Addai Robinson was looking good, as usual. Too bad it was a hi!-bye! cameo. Maybe we'll see her drop Oliver into Russia, parachute optional. I am concerned about young Miss Darhk. Where the hell is she? Did Malcolm give her the same song and dance that he gave Thea? Did she end up in the childcare system? Did Anarchy spirit her away? Did Felicity find a family for her to live with? Did Lyla? She's not some toddler; she was ten-to-twelve and was relatively aware of what was going on. She just lost both parents and she knows exactly who is responsible for both losses. When Damien bragged about being in the LoA, I was 'Oliver was too, asshole.' I just want to hug Curtis. Gingerly, but hug him. He was adorable in thinking he could protect Donna and Felicity from Darhk/Dhark/Dahrk/Darkh/Hdark ( the h is silent!). I was disappointed that Noah totally left town, which in turn makes me disappointed in Donna a bit. I still love Mama Smoak, but there will be plenty of time over the break to ponder Smoak Family Feels. TBH, everyone needs a break, but Oliver sticks to his pattern- in a way- and throws himself completely into a new project. Oliver looked so freakin' happy at the swearing in ceremony. He practically glowed; he was getting a chance to work in the light! He could work on bringing Good Things to the town he loves. Stupid episode surprised me by having Baby Sara talk to her mom and dad on the phone. No, you're crying. Because shut up. Flashback question: Why didn't anyone of those guys with automatic weapons fire on the damn totem? Even if you don't believe in possession and Reiter's powers, blow the damn thing up so no one else can use it as an excuse to Evil, right? There was a lot that felt like I was supposed to care, but I didn't, like Cooper's death. Was I supposed to feel an epiphany when Amanda effing Waller was all ' Sometimes you have to kill, Mr. Queen.' Oh, Flashbacks; you have at least one more chance to prove how awesome we know you can be. Rest up and we'll see you in the Fall. It was an alright episode. There were moments I enjoyed, but it did feel stop-and-start-y. Thea also neglected to off Malcolm, so he's skulking around for another season. But I am curious as to how the band gets back together, so I am looking forward to that.

Not exactly. S1 Thawne-Wells came back and accelerated Barry's Flash timeline via making the particle accelerator sooner in Earth-1's timeline. We might have had this with an older Barry, but then an older Barry would presumably not keep trying to save his mom to the detriment of the timeline.

It was called Reed Between the Lines. It was a nice show and I was sad that it didn't get picked up at the time. I am glad that it left Tracy available to do this though.

Barry rewound time then not just to save Oliver, but the entire city as Vandal Savage had just unleashed a killing force that swept over everyone in the city. That time, I understood why he did it and- in order for the other shows to continue/ start- agreed. At that time, that was only the second time Barry had reset time, iirc. I did not realize I was sitting through a three season origin story, if the we have to have a Future Barry tell himself to not mess with the timeline, though. a) ICAM; there is a reason lots of villains have minions; the Show seemed to understand that on Earth-2. *sigh* b) I didn't mind that, mostly because it never came up. Granted, I think it was supposed to give them access to a "home base", but no one did anything to generate cash to keep the building's utilities going. We were just supposed to go ' Yay! Barry owns the lab!" and ignore the pile of bills Barry never bothered with or the fact that no one ever talked like they were always close to being taken off the grid. Hell, even in the latter part of the season, Felicity could have shipped Barry & Co. one of the batteries that can run a city, but that wasn't even talked about. Unless we are supposed to believe this crew essentially lives in a bubble. Considering Jay was kidnapped from Earth-3 and that various other metahumans made their way to Earth-2 to try and stop Zoom, I would think that as long as you had the ability to either run like a speedster or could open a portal, getting to Earth-3 ( since it's a next-door neighbor to Earth-2) would be easier. I believe Zoom/Hunter's line was nexus point, though, not access point. That Earth-1 should not be destroyed because it is the "important" one. Zoom wanted to set up shop on Barry's Earth because it was from there , with the help of the stolen tech from Mercury Labs, that Zoom could destroy every other Earth in the multiverse. Which is also why the Flash Mob wanted to shunt Zoom back into Earth-2; he couldn't destroy the universe from Earth-2.

If Joe's tranq gun hadn't jammed or he had been able to get sideways enough, Joe could have been safe and the plan would have gone off as thought. Folks did not take into account needing a back-up tranq gun. They weren't useless, just not as into redundancies as Malcolm Merlyn over on Arrow. Plus, they all knew that their plan could go wrong and ahead of time agreed that they would stick to the plan of denying Zoom's Earth-1 platform. ( He needed Earth-1 intact so he could destroy the other infinite number of Earths with the Mercury Labs machine. The smaller white one with the ball on a stem.) I was thinking that too. A cross between Buffy and Kung Fu. My husband has been advocating finding a sniper and having a sniper take out Zoom for a great number of episodes. Surely the police have/ had one. Captain Cold/ Leonard Snart is supposed to resurface among the shows. IKR?! More please, even if it's a C- or D- plot; it can merge with the bigger plot later in the season. Whatever story those two can get.

I understand Barry having trouble dealing with Nora's death and Henry's is still raw for Barry. I get that. I understand where his headspace might be. Yet... Barry talks about losing his mom. Iris did not lose hers as violently, but she did and Iris lost her twice. Barry just lost his father, as Iris did this episode. Granted, she didn't know how short a time it was going to be, but Iris was unhappily willing to back up her words with appropriate inaction. The group's goal was to keep Zoom from using E1 to destroy the other Earths. They almost got that done. I think that is why I respect Iris a bit more than Barry. She's willing to take the emotional hit to keep people safe, but Barry has stubbornly refused to see that, even after a four-part "chat" with the Speed Force itself. Barry tends to walk into traps, knowing they are traps, but usually with no other plan after the trap is sprung. He is the most credulous forensics scientist on TV. He cannot think outside of a binary when villains give him an ultimatum. ( Give in or run, usually.) He brushes past others' pain and loss to tell folks that they can't understand how he's feeling. ( Like Iris tonight.) I grinned so hard when Caitlin brought up Ronnie, but of course, Barry minimized that in comparison to his pain and loss. I realize it's the writing, but "The Writing" has pigeon-holed Barry into a very juvenile mindset for the sake of "action". Several clever folks on these boards have come up with reasonable ways to have Barry, Iris and the Flash Mob interact and still be credible, well-rounded characters. Yet we end up with Barry, for the second year, running back to his mother's murder, only this time stopping the act. It is more infuriating, to me, this year than last because Barry has been through so much more since the end of S1 and has seen first hand how screwing around with the timeline is a big no-no, hence the Pah Wraiths. In fact, Barry- knowing how to game the timeline- counted on being able to outmaneuver Zoom using the taunts Zoom threw at him to bring about Zoom's demise. Yet, that did not hold in Barry's mind for longer than it took him to change clothes. He encountered the time wraiths once already and just used them to finish off Hunter Zolomon. So Barry decides that he can't be grown without either parent, so he goes back in time for the umpteenth time just this season! ( I do not care that TPTB said the timeline would be tampered with/ changed. It should not be. Not at the end of every season. It has lost the impact TPTB think it still holds.) If Barry doesn't get some sort of consequence from this clearly selfish trip? I am out. This is not the kind of hero I can back.

Well, Barry's other two dads survived and the Garrick mention, as well as the spec as to who that Masked Man was, came to fruition. Kudos to those who were steadfast in their JWS devotion/spec! Harry and Jesse got to go home, so that was nice; they got to live. I read Iris's reactions to Joe being pulled to Earth-2 as her compartmentalizing. She'd break down away from everyone, after she a) helped Barry and Wally and b) helped get Zoom defeated. I loved that she was supportive, even in the face of that horrible "argument" that Caitlin was ready to unleash her dark side. I have thoughts on Barry's reactions to things, but there are better places for that. I hope that we somehow get Jesse and Harry back. Wally and Jesse seemed to have a nice potential friend chemistry. I am not interested in a Flashpoint Paradox. I saw the animated version and did not enjoy the story at all. If there is a shortcut way to show Barry how idiotic his season-ending move was, then may Robert Queen shoot his ass so full of arrows that Barry looks like a freaking Thanksgiving turkey! Then, maybe? We can get down to some S1-esque fighting of bad guys and discovering various metas- good as well as bad? With some visits from his Arrow and Legends friends. And Super-friends. But that's for next season. This season felt like a mess for too much of it. The show also felt like it didn't fully trust itself or us. Then the pacing. It wasn't so horrible I couldn't watch, but the season just felt so long and drawn-out to where I just wanted the show to Get. To. The. Point. Just not the Flashpoint. Again, some more.

I agree with this , in that Barry needs to do the explaining to the team back at the lab why he's doing X as opposed to Y. The way it is written now makesit feel like Cisco and Caitlin are telling Barry how he should approach situations, when a) Barry's pretty conversant in the sciences as is and b) he's the one who is supposed to know what he can do with his powers. Maybe he can came back to Season 3 and surprise even the Flash Mob with some new moves that he tried out during a break/vacation/ Memorial Day between waking up and the group bbq at the West house. ::shrugs:: The last two seasons have shown Barry whining about wanting to do more with his abilities, but not really working on what he could do. Testing limits and moves that are needed to defeat a particular bad guy? Sure! But even on Grimm, the lead, after getting some heightened abilities a couple of times, was shown to go out in the woods and work on his skills and abilities ( hitting fruit with a blindfold on; his in-the-know buddy helped.) Here, unless it was prompted by an immediate need, Barry hasn't done anything to come up with a move that could help at a later point. Having Barry come back having come up with a small handful of nifty moves to use against baddies and/or meta-baddies would go to showing not only his maturation as a hero, but potentially, his goofy nerd side. Since I don't know what tonight's finale has in store, I can't say for sure, but : why would TC have to play a third version of Harrison Wells? If Zoom is defeated, then Harry and Jesse can go back home, if they wish. Or Harrison can return to his company and Jesse can stay. Either way leaves open the chance of Harry popping in from time-to-time. He can still be used as a sounding board and/or mentor. But, as I said, this is all on Harry surviving the finale, which I hope he does. Cranky Harry is my favorite version to date. While I would not like a Crisis on Infinite Earths to happen- at least not right now, I think something cool would be a villain we don't know is a chronal problem until we get to the LoT episode(s). Dimensional? Pfft. Barry can handle that now. Just as long as it's not Vandal Savage, I'm pretty okay. Someone/ a group of someones who can go at Our Heroes not only dimensionally, but chronally( sp?) could be an amazing final fight, as evidenced in LoT's final fight ( of the season, anyway) against VS. I guess I am hoping that we get an onion not a tire. Onions have layers, so you progressively defeat stronger bad guys until you discover The Boss. Unfortunately, we got a bad, practically bald tire in S2. It still got us where we were going. We saw some cool sights. Yet, would we do that again? Probably not. At least, not for a while.

I am pretty glad whenever Keegan-Michael Key is on my TV, but last night seemed a little more goofy. (Not a bad thing, imo.) Maybe after Colin destroyed the other guys with that weird half-mask, and seeing the other three just give up, everything seemed just a bit more loosey-goosey and ( almost) willing to go anywhere. Weird Newscasters? "Drop and give me 20!" was my favorite thing. Wayne was fun with his 'America's Got Talent' sports report, as well. KMK's reaction to the sports segment made me laugh too. Freaking Helping Hands, though. While not one of the best goes, KMK was a trouper. He and Ryan were able to keep the scene from being 'How-many-gross-things-can-we-stick-into-Ryan's-mouth?' I was able to watch most of the segment, so that's a huge step up from most of the HH outings. I enjoyed that we got DooWop in this episode and the previous one! Pasta away, indeed! So glad the show is back!

I really enjoyed this episode! Alfonso was engaged and seemed to enjoy himself quite a bit. I loved his reactions to Colin in Dubbing; such great side-eye. It was cool to have Questions and Scenes From a Hat in the same show, though I hope it doesn't happen too often. Both are fun, and I enjoy them, but let's see something like Party Quirks, Song Styles or Sound Effects as well. Think of the possibilities of having Alfonso join in on Song Styles with Wayne and Gary. It was a great episode to come back with and I am excited for the season!

Anna Devere Smith, Margaret Cho and David Hyde Pierce are clones in a Dyson sphere, but they don't know it's a) a Dyson sphere and b) there are others in the sphere as well. ( Actually, the viewers don't either.) The clones believe they are part of a space mission, they are alone, something bad had happened and that if they leave their part of the complex, more bad stuff will happen. About half way through the season, we meet another group of clones played by Carlos Ponce, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Eva Longoria. The season ends as clones of Leslie Jones finds both groups and tells them that her group needs help! It's a half- hour dramedy called Spaced Out . Or Space Is Clonely.

Aliens In America: Next Wave-- Dan Byrd (Cougar Town) and Adhir Kalyan (Rules of Engagement) reprise their roles from the original show, but it focuses on their kids helping out Raja Musharraf's just arrived cousin and her family; actually the kids with the grown-ups helping each other too. Half & Half Again-- Mona (Rachel True) and Dee Dee (Essence Atkins) get together for a sisterly retreat; they find out that each of them are in another transitional period in their lives and decide to move to another building their father still owns. Dee Dee and Mona's current families show how another kind of modern family gets along! Big Dee Dee , Phyllis and Charles will pop up here and there.

Why isn't this on my TV?! :D

If the show landed on the All Access platform, I may have to seriously consider picking it up. When Star Trek was announced to be on All Access, I wasn't going to pay for the privilege of new Trek. ( Movies are different, imo.) But if Trek and Limitless were on, the hubby and I might sign up for it.

One of us!! One of us!!

P.I. series: BelWest ; the name of the eventual detective partnership between Beatrice "Trixie" Belden and Honey West. Set in the 70s, the pilot sets up Bea, in her early twenties, and Honey, in her thirties, and how they became partners. It modernizes both characters and we keep Bruce, Honey's ocelot. Time-Travel Dramedy: Hedy Business; Hedy Lamarr is almost killed by a rogue Time Master, but Bonnie Baxter- an associate of Rip Hunter's- sweeps in and rescues her! Knowing that the great lady deserves to see what she began scientifically, Bonnie asks if she wants a "tour" of the future. Promising to just take a quick peek at one example, Hedy and Bonnie stumble across another Time Lord group up to no good. They agree to help the lady, Henrietta Lacks, but Bonnie makes Hedy promise not to give their game away. After helping Ms. Lacks, they return to Bonnie's ship. Hedy, energized by the encounter, asks if she can travel with Bonnie for a while. Historical Drama: The Soong Sisters; focusing on their years at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, USA ( we'll cheat and keep Mei-Ling, future Madame Chang Kai Shek, in Georgia instead of Massachusets, unless the writing can juggle the split well). [The Wikipedia entry on them:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soong_sisters] They came from money and power. They ended up three of the most powerful women in China during the first half of the 20th century. They should have their amazing stories told. eta: Yes, I know about the movie titled The Soong Sisters, but it's such a rich story/ three rich stories, that it could go long form and still be very interesting.

I would take Michael Learned's 1982 Emmy for Lead Actress/ Drama for Nurse and give it to Debbie Allen/ Fame. The other three actresses in the category that year were : Veronica Hamel ( Hill Street Blues), Michele Lee ( Knots Landing) and Stephanie Powers ( Hart To Hart.) Ms. Learned is a very good actress, but at this point her Olivia Walton had got her a couple of Emmys already.

That would be Rex Tyler, not Alex. Not totally discounting the possibility, as we have met a Green Arrow that isn't Oliver Queen, but in order to get a rise out of those who know Hourman, making the man who showed up Rex would make more sense. I am glad that Vandal was defeated and that the Hawks got a chance to help kick his ass. I am beyond glad that Kendra had no hesitation in stabbing that s.o.b. this time. I wonder, though: Was that the correct knife? I know we got the big energy buble-turned-wave that went over the city ( poor Central City!) Or is this akin to Malcolm Merlyn being able to brush VS into a dustpan in the crossover between Flash and Arrow? I was looking for Kendra's mace/Morningstar, but it wasn't used. I love to pieces that Clarissa isn't going to be a stereotypical TV wife! She was very much a "don't you put any potential regrets on me" gal who will worry- because she loves that snotty genius of a husband- but a) it's not unfounded and b) she doesn't seem to be a shrinking violet. ( Though, the team should totally meet Shrinking Violet from the 30th Century! She can play with Ray even!) Clarissa proably is Doing Things. Maybe she could be involved in a timeline protection story, say right after the Ronnie/Martin Firestorm took off for Pittsburg. Clarissa facing Gen. Wade Eiling could be awesome! But that's in the future (as such), Clarissa was wonderfully pro-active in helping Martin keep active and vital, not that he wouldn't be, but Martin has a spark ( if you will) around Jefferson that he didn't have with Ronnie, even. Still? I want a LoT dinner at Martin and Clarissa's next season. I was hoping that Kendra had run into Easy Company, but I was glad that didn't pan out as the poor G.I. got ganked by Vandal. May many fun cameos ensue next season!

I'm still processing. What if both women went over the railing? Poor Hakeem; he really was wanting to try and be a "normal" family with Laura. Sadly, I'm glad Hakeem is free of Laura if a fight was all it took to ruin her mood. Either she was lying to herself that she wasn't interested in Hakeem's money or she has no idea what work goes into a marriage. Then again, her parents seemed pretty stiff-necked. I don't blame them for wanting to keep a known bad dude out of their daughter's wedding venue, but to wash their hands so completely? They must have only allowed the courtship because they thought it would a) burn out and/or b)get their daughter a higher profile, thus give Laura a chance to move to another label. That's some cold shit. Hakeem seems doomed in hindsight. Then that mess with Lucious and Anika. I am glad 'Keem's crew was right there with him. I had to switch channels a couple of times. I guess because I'm invested in the characters that I got upset and disappointed in Rhonda wanting Andre to kill Anika. I also could not listen to whatever new lies Lucious told Freda to get her to rap. I am betting he used Jamal and Freda's bond against both. If the concern trolling didn't shake Freda, then he probably had some vile threats at the ready. The lovely woman whom we've only seen once or twice reappeared! Cookie mentioned that she's a/ the #1 artist. Well, probably because she doesn't hang around you lunatics! *g* Loved her song. Man, my wish for Season 3 is that Cookie finds someone who will treat her with love and respect and protect her from Lucious. Hell, Alexis Carrington found love a couple of times on Dynasty, even if she still felt something for Blake. That hour? Just...wow!

Well, that was interesting. Likes: *Everything Felicity, Friends and Family-- more of that in dollops here and there. EK, CR, TA and EBR were on point and gave the episode the heart and emotional heft it needed. *Anarchy-- he brings the weirdo, whack-a-mole vibe to the proceedings that I appreciated, as well as others. I'm down with the creepy "Mommy" stuff because he explained it last episode. It makes sense. *A Bad Guy actually died!-- I don't care that she was the freakin' mayor; Ms. Adams was Mrs. Evil and got the position by shenanigans. I have other feelings, but that's in a minute. *That Noah and Donna aren't all wrong or all right, wrt Felicity. While I am not thrilled that Donna took it upon herself to shoo Noah out of Felicity's life now, I don't fully believe Noah just left either. Felicity inherited stubborn from both sides. *That Shot--Oliver did some sort of jump-swing back-shoot minion with an arrow. I loved that maneuver! I liked the whole run-and-gun sequence. Dislikes: *Of all the Bad Guys around this season, the first death that seemed to take was Ruve's? Not Malcolm or Brick or Murmur? (Okay, keep Brick; I like Vinnie Jones.) Not cool. ( If I am wrong about death taking a villain permanently before Ruve, then I apologize in advance.) Alas, the fatal shoulder strike takes another TV character. *I thought we told you pretty vociferously, Show, that no one wanted Merlyn to destroy the town due to Tommy's mom's death. Why are we being treated to a real-time tantrum/grieving process with added magical crap? Yeah, I like NM, but I don't want to go through poor Star City having to continually dig itself out of the muck five-years running. Star City isn't Gotham, so stop makin' like it is. Star City has crime, but I don't know why there's even a city any more. The government would probably re-locate those who couldn't move themselves. For a show that tries to show hope in the face of darkness, You have gone a bit too 'darkness before the dawn'. Just sayin'. *Malcolm Merlyn is breathing. With both of his original lungs. Someone please do something about that stat. ( Lurve John Barrowman, but really? Malcolm can go last season.) *Has anyone checked on freaking Quentin? Between staring at the depressed real estate and Donna relivin' the bad old times, our favorite cop was underground in the middle of town! He did not answer in reply to Felicity's 'Is anyone out there?!' call. If Q was on comms, he should have heard and spoke up. He better be safe or at least Not Dead, Show. ::eyes tables for flipping:: Oh! Just had a wish for next week: Noah and Quentin come to rescue Donna!! And both men survive!

Yes! It was tough, but a good, fun kind of tough. Thanks, Joe!