This Week in DCTV 10/27

Welcome to This Week in DCTV, where the Twisted Cape examines, breaks down, and gives a quick review of all the original shows that DC has released this week. This will run weekly and start on Sunday and end on Saturday, so we catch everything on the CW, Fox, and the DC Universe streaming service. We will eventually be incorporating all of it, including the content from other networks, like Syfy. We’ll also include an average on the week to help determine whether the week was a success. Keep in mind there will be spoilers on a regular basis so read on at your own risk.

Weekly Score (Out of 5) – 3/5

Sadly, this week saw a bit of dip in scores. The main shows sort of dragged this week. The saving graces are the premiere of Legends and another strong performance from Titans. The Twist of the week this week goes to Starfire for her fight scenes this week.

The CW

Supergirl - 2/5

Kara and Lena hunt and do battle with Mercy as the Alien vs. Human crisis escalates, all spinning out of last week’s bombshell revelation that the president is an alien. SPOILERS – Kara spends most of the episode as Kara instead of Supergirl and it helps. This episode leans more into the injustice angle, which is a bit political in nature. While it’s interesting, the presentation is heavy handed. Brainy continues to be a welcome addition to the cast, and Nia Nall is helpful as well. I’m just not sure how long this can go on before feeling like ground that has become tread on too much. I want to see the Agent Liberty endgame and/or the Red Son adaptation before long or the show will be walking with an anchor around it’s neck. Finally, it seems that J’onn is going to have a big role this season, but it hasn’t been exactly revealed yet. The end of the episode puts Kara in mortal danger due to the atmosphere having kryptonite dispersed throughout.

Arrow – 2.5/5

Team Arrow deals with internal conflicts, as Oliver continues to adjust to life in prison. This episode introduces the Longbow Hunters and the flashforwards continue as well. SPOILERS – Much of this episode deals with the pursuit of the Longbow Hunters and their boss, Ricardo Diaz. Felicity continues to try to free Oliver, causing a rift between her and the team members at ARGUS, Diggle and Curtis. Not wild about how this story is panning out because it undermines Felicity’s strength as a character. Thankfully, she reclaims some of it at the end of the episode, with the FBI agent from last season.. Dinah and Laurel team up and go on a mission hunting Diaz, but come across one of the Longbow Hunters, who eventually escapes. They seem to be setting this version of Laurel up for redemption, which would be interesting. Oliver tries to save a guard from Brick and his crew, but has to sacrifice his well being to keep the guard and his family in tact. Sadly, this episode doesn’t focus as much on Ollie as I’d like, especially with him being the lead character and all. Hopefully the prison stint ends soon. I’m curious to see how he can reclaim the Green Arrow mantle despite being outed. The flashforwards focus on adult William and older Roy digging into the past. There’s just too much noise going on and not enough Ollie to keep this episode from being great, but it does set up some interesting points for later on.

The Flash - 3/5

The team seeks to stop Cicada before he causes irreparable damage and team Flash learns about a potential massive problem. They enlist help from a familiar, but different source. SPOILERS – There’s really a problem with Flashes and messing up the timeline, and that’s no more apparent than the presence of Barry’s daughter. Caitlin seeks closure for her father’s death, but then uncovers a bigger mystery. Ralph has growing pains as a hero when he stops a robbery, but gets caught being a pear. Is it team Flash without a Wells? They enlist the help of Sherloque Wells, who “deduces” who Cicada is, but due to timeline changes, the identity is different. He does however deduce one of my suspicions that something is amiss with Nora. Finally, for an episode called the Death of Vibe, there wasn’t much focus here. For the time being, Cicada believes he’s killed Vibe, but Nora saved him allowing him to heal and retire his Vibe persona for a little bit. It was an OK episode, but it was clearly mostly filler and misdirection. This should turn around before the crossover.

Black Lightning – 2.5/5

The Pierce family continues to deal with the fallout and consequences of last season. Tobias continues his quest for dominance while others attempt to find their way. SPOILERS – Tobias makes Khalil his lieutenant to fill the void left by Syonade. Jefferson meets his new principal, who is a bit of a dick. I wish this episode focused more on this part of Jeff’s life. There was a bit of focus this week on Anissa’s love life, as well as her quest to fund the community by being a version of Robin Hood. I feel like she can be betrayed if she continues down this path. Jennifer continues to deal with having powers and her parents set her up with a specialist. Lynn starts work with another scientist that she knows is mentally unstable. Finally, we get some interaction between Henderson and Jefferson, and most poignantly when Henderson relays that they have captured Tobias. Solid episode, but at times this also felt like filler material. Hopefully the show moves forward and recaptures last season’s pacing

Legends of Tomorrow – 4.5/5

The season premiere focused on the teams hope for a life after their adventure in defeating Malus. They attempt to heed Constantine’s warning at the end of last season, but find themselves underwhelmed by it all, until a magical force shakes up the Legends, making it very groovy. SPOILERS – Welcome back to one of the most entertaining superhero themed shows on the air. Ava and Sara further their relationship and this may be the most pure relationship in this universe. Constantine shows up and is still delightfully Constantine. The majority of the Legends come across a Unicorn at Woodstock that gives them an LSD bath from it’s horn. If that sentence doesn’t make you want to watch this show nothing will. This show relies on humor, heart, soul, and action and every one of those items is apparent in this episode. It sets the table for a magically infused season ahead, which is welcome. Loved this episode.

DC Universe

Titans – 4/5

Multiple characters end up on a collision course as a mysterious family hunts Rachel. A new character is formally introduced and a nefarious cult is revealed. SPOILERS – Kory finds Raven and rescues her from the Nuclear family, killing the father in the process. We get a good look at her powers in this struggle and Kory really sets herself up as a character who is fun to root for. However, her outfit is still distracting. Dick is hunting for Rachel and puts him on a collision course with Kory, who has left violence and bodies in her wake as she searches for answers about her identity. There is also significant time spent with Dick via flashbacks. It almost seems ridiculous to hide the actor playing Bruce, because we know that Batman has to somehow factor into this show. Rachel meets Gar in an arcade and there’s clearly a little spark present. I’m curious to see how he fits in as time goes on. Kory takes Rachel to the church where she was raised, but something is clearly up with the nuns. The nuns lock Rachel up, allowing her other half to take over allowing her to escape. I have to admit, this show is far better than I could have imagined. The action is pretty good, the writing is better than I imagined, but at points the acting could still use some work, especially from the younger actors. I’ll chalk that up to growing pains. Could this show be actually good?

#Supergirl #GreenArrow #TheFlash #LegendsofTomorrow #Titans #BlackLightning