S03.E10: Frenemies - Chapter Ten: The Killer

[AnimeMania]

THE AFTERMATH - Courtney (Brec Bassinger) and the team regroup after a dramatic confrontation leaves battle lines clearly drawn. A terrifying discovery made by Mike (Trae Romano) and Jakeem (Alkoya Brunson) forces Pat (Luke Wilson) and Sylvester (Joel McHale) to go on high alert. Finally, Paula (Joy Osmanski) and Larry (Neil Hopkins) take matters into their own hands to make things right.

Original Air Date: November 9, 2022     8 p.m.   CW 

[cambridgeguy]

Well, that seemed pretty definitive for the Crocks.  Jordan might be able to pull himself together after being shattered into a bunch of tiny pieces, but I don't think the same can be said for them.  I think the lesson is that if you're being baited into a trap, you shouldn't just dive in.

Now the question is, are Jordan and the Ultra Humanite working together?  Maybe he helped Jordan pull himself together.

[Jediknight]

I hate Jordan.

I was thinking, maybe he'll leave them frozen and Cindy would be able to save them.  Like her dad found a way to save somebody if they've been frozen, as a precaution.  That got shot down when that douchenozzle blasted the Crocks into dust.

Artemis finishes out the school year living with the Whitmore-Dugans and Yolanda?

I liked Courtney taking the blame for Jordan's death to protect Mike.  Cameron right now won't do shit to Court, and she can defend herself, but he might go after Mike.  Court did the right thing, and also in explaining that his dad was (still is) a douchenozzle.  The guy killed a lot of people, including Joey.

I really hate Jordan.

[opus]

Okay all you writers out there’s, having seen the cliffhanger, how can we save the Crocks? I harken back to comic book writer Louise Simonson, who has said she never kills a character without beforehand thinking of a way to bring them back.

Edited November 10, 2022 by opus

[Trini]

Well, crap. I knew I should have got my speculation in before the episode aired! Besides doing it for a shocking reveal, I had a feeling the show might resurrect Icicle so that that Mike doesn't have to be a (accidental) killer anymore.

Man, I was conflicted about that ending! 'Yes! Icicle's back! Noooo! Not the Crocks!!' 

The episode description seemed ominous to me, so I was expecting something to happen to the Crocks. (And then in typical TV fashion, more screen time, being happy, and making future plans are lethal.) But it still hurt to lose them! 😭  I was actually expecting Grandma Icicle to take them out during their meeting; it was really tense for me!

LOL - Cindy really had one scene and bounced. But at least Jakeem and Mike found her... kinda.

So... with Icicle still alive, Courtney and Cameron can make up, right? I wasn't sure what Courtney was going to tell him, but her taking the fall seems about right.

Ultra Humanite? I'd say he sounds like a weird villain, but he wouldn't be any weirder than any other villain in these comic book shows. They didn't really explain why he's so dangerous.

Listen to your friends Rick!

[cdnalor]

Well, that sucks!  The Crocks were two of the more amusing characters on the show and I don't see them coming back from that.  I suspected Jordan was the Watcher but I'd gladly trade him to get the Crocks back.  He had his chance and now the Ultra-Humanite is up to bat.

[thuganomics85]

Paula:  "Not all heroes fly in the air.  Some shoot arrows."

Oliver Queen and Clint Barton:  "You damn right, Paula!"

As soon as I saw how much focus we were getting with the Crocks, I was starting to wondering what was in store here.  And as soon as they manage to leave the Mahkents without any bloodshed but we still focused on them (complete with finding out that Artemis got into college!), I figured something bad was going down.  And, yeah, that would do it.  Now, obviously anyone can magically come back on superhero shows, but being not only frozen but then blasted apart into ice dust is certainly going to be a hard thing to walk back.  Not to mention this being the show's last season and all.  If this is really it for Crusher and Paula, then I raise a glass to both them and Neil Hopkins and Joy Osmanski for kicking so much ass in these roles.  They will be missed. 

But at least we do find out who the Watcher was this entire time: Icicle is back, baby!  Yep, Jordan is actually still alive and clearly has an axe to grind.  If he was also behind The Gambler's death though, I do wonder why he seems to be targeting his former allies first instead of the heroes who brought him down.  Still, with him back, I imagine both Mike and Barbara are going to be future targets for different reasons.  Uh oh!

So, the gorilla from last week was none other than the Ultra Humanite and everyone think he is the killer.  I wonder if he's in league with Jordan or not?  I did love that out of his backstory, it was him being an actress at one point; even winning an Oscar; that stood out amongst everyone.  Not just a psychotic doctor but apparently an hell of an actor!

Courtney definitely earned some big sister points by protecting Mike and claiming responsibility for Jordan's death to Cameron.  Granted, the petty part of me was thinking that she should just blame Rick since Cameron already hates him, so why not put every bad thing that effects Cameron on Rick?!  Not surprised though that Cameron did not take that well, so I'm curious to see if a villain turn is on its way, sadly.

Sylvester is back to being kind of ragey again.  I have to think this will come into play for these last few episodes.

Edited November 10, 2022 by thuganomics85

[rmontro]

No, not the Crocks!  They were about the best part of the show!

[Jediknight]

6 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

But at least we do find out who the Watcher was this entire time: Icicle is back, baby!  Yep, Jordan is actually still alive and clearly has an axe to grind.  If he was also behind The Gambler's death though, I do wonder why he seems to be targeting his former allies first instead of the heroes who brought him down.

Because they're not trying to avenge him.  The Gambler wanted to make amends with people he had wronged.  The Crocks loved being friends with Pat and Barb, and wanted to be heroes.  The Shade?  Well, he likes the new JSA and likes working with them.  Nobody gives a shit about Jordan's death, they didn't like him.  He's a petty asshole.

[readster]

On 11/9/2022 at 8:16 PM, cambridgeguy said:

Well, that seemed pretty definitive for the Crocks.  Jordan might be able to pull himself together after being shattered into a bunch of tiny pieces, but I don't think the same can be said for them.  I think the lesson is that if you're being baited into a trap, you shouldn't just dive in.

Now the question is, are Jordan and the Ultra Humanite working together?  Maybe he helped Jordan pull himself together.

The Crocks are just trained people, they really don't have any "special powers". When Mike used the drill on Larry back in season 1. That is something he could recover from. Being frozen and shattered into pieces of flesh, when your main powers aren't ice that you are born with. Yeah, sadly it is also how the comics treated Paula and Larry after the 80s: "Their daughter is the 10 times better bad ass, who needs them?" I can see Humanite helping Jordan, if you remember back in season 1 with him and Dragon King talking. They were talking about a "friend" of theirs they thought of needing. Humanite has been part of the ISA in the past, even created a version at one time. 

8 hours ago, Jediknight said:

Because they're not trying to avenge him.  The Gambler wanted to make amends with people he had wronged.  The Crocks loved being friends with Pat and Barb, and wanted to be heroes.  The Shade?  Well, he likes the new JSA and likes working with them.  Nobody gives a shit about Jordan's death, they didn't like him.  He's a petty asshole.

The only people that really were with Jordan were Brainwave and Dragon King and the Fiddler both versions. Jordan also kept Grundy on a lease to keep him under control. Even Shiv thought Jordan was a loser. He is on a revenge tour. 

[Lantern7]

No one can be that dumb.

Getting baited to go into the sewers, not calling for backup . . . that’s shit not even Mike and Jakeem would have pulled. Actually, I should hate the writers for making their painfully telegraphed. Once their daughter told them about her acceptance into college, I knew they’d get — at minimum — hurt. Getting frozen and shattered was pretty much the worst that could’ve happened to them.

As for Jordan . . .  so much for my theory that Brainwave was the mystery villain. Icicle seemed both too obvious a choice and too long a shot . . . Mike ran his ass over and busted him into pieces. Brainwave convincing Yolanda that she had killed her (as opposed to actually doing that) seemed more likely. Nope . . . looks like Dragon King and/or Ultra-Humanite managed to revive Jordan, and he’s been playing Phantom of Blue Valley all season.

Courtney claiming to have killed Jordan to Cameron . . . am I a bad person for think she should own Mike forever? “Yeah, your dad was evil, but his death was an accident . . . and I killed him. I killed him, I got closer to you, I was helping you with your powers . . . and I’m letting you know now that I killed him.”

How many more episodes do we have?

[tennisgurl]

Well this is certainly a big pile of suck. I should have known the Crocks were toast considering how happy they were all episode, giving pep talks, being all supportive, being so happy about their future with Artemis getting onto the football team, they were just too happy to be allowed to live. The show is going to be lesser without them, they've been one of the highlights of the season!

On a lighter note, everyone's reactions to finding out that the Ultr-Huminite put his brain into an actresses head and won an Oscar was hilarious. Yeah, even by this shows comic book standards, that's a lot to take in. 

[Trini]

On 11/10/2022 at 6:54 PM, thuganomics85 said:

Paula:  "Not all heroes fly in the air.  Some shoot arrows."

Another thing that I thought was interesting in this episode was the the direct and indirect references to other heroes - outside the JSA. They actually mentioned Batman by name; and then the above line, which could refer to a number of persons, but I think they were most likely referring to Superman and Green Arrow. It's just that DC seems very particular about mentions, and I liked that it potentially connects the show and characters just a bit closer to the larger DC multiverse.

[bettername2come]

The Crocks have had such a great redemption arc, coming out of villainy to be there for their daughter and learning about the power of friendship. At least they to to die knowing Arty had made the football team. And I typed that sentence right before Jordan said "At least you'll die together." I don't like that we think alike. 

I'm at least glad that Cameron's grandma didn't kill them. I thought it was going there.