I’ve just been awful at keeping up with/updating TV stuff on this blog lately. I won’t be able to discuss the season finale of The 100, for instance, because I’m still three episodes behind. And Supergirl: how did I not write up something on Supergirl and its take-a-shot-every-time-someone-says-hope-but-not-really-because-then-you’d-be-dead finale? I am happy that the show got renewed, because there’s a lot to like and the potential is there (except . . . except . . . I NEED Cat Grant, like, ALL THE TIME, damn it, CW), but I also often find it vastly underwhelming, too. And that finale sort of summed up a lot of my problems with the show itself.
But Supergirl was weeks and weeks ago now. Let us discuss more recent (or recent-ish) TV events, many of which I found, well. Not entirely up to snuff.
SPOILERS AHOY, MATEY. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.
Agents of Shield
So, this wasn’t bad–it definitely had some fun moments–but it also wasn’t nearly as explosive (figuratively, anyway) and awesome as last year’s finale. I feel like the last few minutes were supposed to have me going, “Wait, WHAT? OMG, what’s happened in six months?” But my reaction was more like: “Huh. That’s kind of interesting, I guess.”
I think I found the finale slightly underwhelming for a few different reasons. One of the big ones, I’m sure, is because I was actively voting for Lincoln to die for most of the year. The idea of his arc (with him essentially using his love for Daisy as just another drug to fill the hole that Afterlife–and alcohol–could no longer fill) might have worked for me if I thought it had played that way throughout; unfortunately, that idea felt tacked on too little and too late for my liking. Daisy and Lincoln’s romance felt incredibly rushed and did absolutely nothing for me at all, so while the actors sold it as best they could in their faux Captain America/Peggy Carter (or George Kirk/Winona Kirk) scene, I really could only feel relief that Lincoln was dying instead of anyone I actually cared about. (Especially Mack, Elena, or Fitz, who seemed to be the other frontrunners for the chopping block.) I did have fun watching the Cross of DOOM shell game, and the show did successfully manage to make it seem like multiple characters were in danger of dying (which is always a plus), but once we figured out that Lincoln was the true sacrifice, my sister and I literally high-fived. I suspect that was not the emotion the show runners were going for.
Also, Hive was an okay villain, but I don’t think he was used to his full potential. Overloading his brain so that all his swallowed souls, so to speak, started talking at once was pretty awesome . . . but it would have been a lot more awesome if we’d gotten more glimpses of the people he used to be throughout the back half of the season. Hive was at his most intriguing during the Powers Boothe flashback episode, when you really saw Nathaniel Malick’s wrath and sense of betrayal shine through Hive. That was fascinating . . . but then the show really never capitalized on that, preferring to keep him that blank-faced supposed-savior-of-all-mankind villain, which, bleh. This seems like it might finally be the actual end of Brett Dalton’s career on Agents of SHIELD, and while I definitely think it’s time, I’m still a little sad to see him go.
On the upside:
Solid action and fight scenes. Humor, too. The episode was totally entertaining, even if it didn’t fully resonate with me emotionally the way I wanted it to.
Mack and Elena are the best. I ship them more than anyone else on the show. They must never die.
Fitz killing Giyera? BADASS.
I’m pretty glad John Hannah’s character didn’t bite it. I found him pretty delightful during this episode. Untrustworthy, sure, but delightful . . . which, come to think of it, is pretty much John Hannah’s acting MO, isn’t it? Anyway, “I can tell by your mustache” and “science hunch” and the whole scene with him and Coulson’s hand . . . I’m just saying, this guy can stick around. (Annoying Fire Boy, however, cannot. Did he die? I honestly don’t remember now. Hopefully he died.)
Daisy’s new look in the flash forward? I’M INTO IT.
Coulson with the Star Wars reference FTW.
FINALE GRADE: B+
SEASON GRADE: B
Elementary
So, that was disappointing.
I’ve been really into this season so far–Joan and Sherlock continue to have the most amazing relationship, and overplayed as daddy issues are, I’ll admit I’m something of a sucker for them, especially when you have actors like Jonny Lee Miller and John Noble squaring off against one another. I have been looking forward to watching Elementary all week every week . . . but this episode, unfortunately, was pretty underwhelming. I did like the discovery that Holmes Senior was originally targeted because of his potential candidacy to lead Moriarty’s Shadow Organization, and I also loved the moment where Joan matter-of-factly dismisses Sherlock’s silly attempts at disbanding their partnership out of fear for her safety. Joan has no time for that bullshit because she is, forever, the best.
But for some reason, Holmes Senior accepting the offer and becoming New Moriarty didn’t feel very exciting, maybe because it didn’t seem so much like an interesting story development (will Sherlock and Morland be actual enemies now, etc.) but rather a convenient way to get John Noble off the show after a one-season contract. The twist that he had accepted the offer seemed pretty obvious to me, so the episode’s attempt at fake-out death tension fell flat. And I’d kind of hoped for Joan to have more to do. I know the show’s been sort of flirting with her dark side all season, but the fact that she was so quickly on board with Sherlock’s plan to frame Tony Curran seemed really weird to me. At the very least, I feel like there should have been a discussion.
Of course, one poor finale won’t stop me from continuing on next season. A lot of shows really seem to struggle around Season 4, but Elementary wasn’t one of them, at least, not for me. This was probably my favorite season since Season 1, actually. But I’ll admit to hoping for a few things for Season 5:
A) A bigger story arc for Joan.
B) A little more time with Sherlock’s recovery, since that was weirdly waved away this season.
C.) More time with Gregson and Bell, who deserve so much more screen time than they get.
D) More Alfredo. Only one episode, guys? This is unacceptable.
It would also be nice if the show would move back to Thursdays, since I work every Sunday night and have to wait until the following day to watch it . . . but, sadly, this seems almost as unlikely as Aidan Quinn and Jon Michael Hill having more screentime.
FINALE GRADE: C+
SEASON GRADE: A-
Legends of Tomorrow
Also underwhelming. But unlike Elementary, that’s been pretty par for the course all season with Legends, a show that has squandered an unbelievable amount of potential and goodwill. The team dynamic has lurched inconsistently all over the place. The supposed grand epic romance (and the half-assed love triangle it became) failed on a massive scale, and Vandal Savage ended up being the most lackluster TV villain I’ve seen in some time, like, I preferred Ra’s Al Ghul to him. Do you know how much I didn’t like Ra’s Al Ghul? A LOT, people. A lot.
Thankfully, Vandal was finally killed (three times, even). His death(s) were as anticlimactic as everything else about him, though. And though everyone has said, repeatedly, ALL SEASON, that only Kendra or Carter could kill Vandal . . . well, they changed that at the last minute, and in the end, neither of them struck the killing blow. I mean, Kendra, kind of. But then Rip, like, really killed him, and I know Rip had to have his revenge and all, but come on, dudes: there were three different Vandals to choose from. Why didn’t Kendra kill one, Carter kill the second, and Rip kill the third?
Also, Rip’s whole plan to fly his time ship into the sun is all very noble . . . until you realize that he never asked Gideon’s opinion on the matter. Seriously, here I am, sitting on my couch and watching Rip bravely stare into the sun, and I’m like, “Uh, Rip? Did you happen to run your suicide mission by the AI who, not coincidentally, will also die if you go through with this?” Well, apparently not: Gideon finally mentions that she’s not ready to buy the farm, and while Rip agrees–because he’s regained the Will to Live after a vision of hugging it out with his dead fam–that’s kind of not the point. Rip, you’re an asshole.
I feel it’s worth mentioning that for a show about time travel, Legends of Tomorrow is pretty terrible about setting things up. Like is it neat that Firestorm can transmute objects? Sure! Should that exciting new power have happened at least once before the season finale when it was urgently needed to help save the day? Probably! And if that one soldier dude’s helmet has been displayed prominently or discussed on the show before, that’s great . . . but I can’t say I remember it, and I sure don’t remember a previous explanation on how shifts in time can change where an object is stored in a room. On Legends, things never seem to exist until the show needs them too, and that’s a problem for me. (Also, Kendra totally got that soldier killed. Kendra, you’re an asshole too.)
Let’s see, what else . . . well, on the upside, Sara Lance finally found out what happened to her sister. (And we found out what Lance was up to in the Arrow Cave Wednesday night! I’m actually glad about that–I thought it was totally weird how he just dropped out of the episode.) Admittedly, I’m glad Sara is sticking around because she’s easily one of the best things this show has going for it (her delivery of “a time master is never late” was badass, just like Gandalf, if Gandalf also happened to be in the League of Assassins . . . ooh, fanfiction), but I totally don’t buy that she’d choose to leave before Damien Darhk was handled. If there had been some kind of imminent crisis, sure, but seriously: a non-urgent job dealing with time travel couldn’t wait a week? Screw you, show. You’re a liar.
Also, it appears that Carter and Kendra might be gone for good?! Or, at the very least, won’t be on the team permanently anymore? YES. YES YES YES YES YES YES. Mekaela and I have been praying for this for weeks. They are the worst. They are the worst ever. Unfortunately, Snart is still currently dead and that’s depressing, because I have fully come around on Wentworth Miller’s ridiculous Drawl of Evil, and I miss him already. (I’ve read that he’s going to come back in some capacity, though, so maybe Rory will keep coming back to the bar for random chats, or maybe we’ll figure out some way to save him, the way time travel has entirely failed to save anyone else the crew cares about.)
Small bright spots aside, this was an anticlimactic finale, and the show has some serious, serious kinks to work out before next season. If Legends wasn’t connected to the other CW superhero shows, I’d have dumped it by now, and even then . . . I’m still considering it. Even Victor Garber might not be enough to save this thing. That’s pretty bad.
FINALE GRADE: C-
SEASON GRADE: C
My Geek Blasphemy 
I stopped watching SHIELD after the midseason finale. After last season, I think I said something about hoping we didn’t just get a whole lot of romantic angst re:Fitzsimmons? Well, I was so excited about Simmons’ adventures in space, and a PTSD storyline… Only for it to turn to romantic angst. Love triangle romantic angst, at that.
Fitz’s end of the love triangle really bugged me, too. Not him himself, but the way that the show was portraying him as a damn saint for trying to help Simmons’ space boyfriend, and being supportive of her, and all of that. Dude, Lance’s suggestion of leaving Will to die on that planet to eliminate the competition was ethically horrifying. (Like, I could understand leaving him because SHIELD has other things on its plate, this would obviously take a long time, and Will might already be dead. Just not because of jealousy.) And given what Simmons had gone through, not being a dick about it was the least Fitz could do.
Final Fitzsimmons note – it rather cheesed me off that Jemma being tortured was made all about Fitz’s reaction and Grant’s characterization. And then we get no kind of aftermath, emotionally or physically. I wasn’t exactly happy about them fridging Constance in the same episode, either, and in the most classicly sexist sense. It’s not even like she was Coulson’s civilian girlfriend or something – she was now a major player in the whole Inhuman thing, and had just figured out that she was engtangled with Hydra. She could’ve at least been killed for those reasons, and had some degree of agency in her own death. But nope, she was murdered just to upset Coulson.
What did you end up thinking of Supergirl? Or were you planning to write a review of it?
Agreed. While I was incredibly relieved that Fitz wasn’t a total dick about the guy, I was a bit horrified it was even suggested that they just leave him there. Like, he’s still a person, even if he is your love interest’s other love interest. That’s deeply not okay. I would have liked to have seen more of Simmons’s PTSD unrelated to boy angst, but I don’t think it bothered me as much as you. Constance, though, definitely did. If she had died for anything other than making Coulson really mad, sure. But I HATED her refrigeration. I was kind of bummed that not a lot of other people seemed to mind. Maybe I just liked her more than most other people?
I thought about writing up a review of Supergirl, but just never got around to it. Ultimately, I’m still watching the show, but it’s so-so for me. On the plus side, Cat is great, J’onn is pretty great, and Winn improved for me once they stopped making him a semi-serious love interest possibility. I like the sister bond. Alex has some nice moments. And I generally like Kara (the actress is great) . . . but when she has a Petulant Episode, I want to shake her about as much as I want to shake Barry in The Flash or Felicity in Arrow. I cannot STAND petulance and passive aggressive shit in a hero, like, how Kara was acting towards J’onn J’onzz when she thought he had killed Astra? Nope. Not having it. Conflicted feelings, I’d totally get, or just not thinking she could work with him anymore . . . but the constant underhanded sniping? It drives me NUTS. Also, the villains are mostly underwhelming, and the thematic shit is just sometimes so awful. That season finale was kind of painful to watch. B? B-?
Yeah, I’ve watched the whole first season, but I dunno if I’ll continue watching the second. Cat is entertaining, I usually like Kara and Alex, and I love their relationship – my weird love for adorable sibling relationships has once again suckered me into watching something a bit meh – but I don’t feel too strongly either way about the rest of the cast, most of the time. And when I do, it’s usually to complain about something.
Like, I still want to punch Lucy for that scene where she was being all pissy and morally superior with Kara for her secret identity… On the same day she personally condemned Kara’s beloved sister to life in illegal mad science lab prison as punishment for lying to protect a friend – or rather, Lucy had a HUNCH that she was lying. And that’s not even getting into Lucy’s actual argument, which was pretty species-ist and ignorant. Like sure, I bet middle school would’ve gone great for Tween Kara if all the parents had known she could incinerate their little darlings with a glance.
Oh my god, the season finale. Okay, that scene where Cat was speechifying on how Supergirl couldn’t go with Maxwell Lord’s idea ’cause that was being driven by fear? I was just thinking “Well that’s nice, but what is the point of this until there’s another idea on the table? It’s currently either Be Driven By Fear or let the entire city be mind-controlled for the rest of their days? Is the second option what Cat is arguing for here?”
Of course, then it gave Kara her plan to break the brainwashing – a plan which made no sense. They didn’t know how the brainwashing worked. There was no reason to think seeing someone talking about hope on the telly would magically wake everyone up – especially not prior to getting Alex as a test case. Basically the show was pushing the thematic shit so damn hard, it forgot to do so in ways that made logical sense.
I was super peeved by what ended up happening with Astra and Non, too, because they came so damn close to having an really good villain arc. If they’d just kept Astra’s well-intentioned extremist thing consistent, and then took out the blue lady so Non’s corruption came out of his own grief, rage, and desire for revenge, they could’ve had villains who were developed, interesting characters without even having to change the plot much. But yeah, on this show, developed and interesting villains wouldn’t be too bloody likely.
I did heart Barry and Kara’s friendship in the crossover episode. That was the most I’ve liked Barry all season, actually. Even if I don’t watch Season 2, I was thinking it might be fun to drop in just for the crossovers.