This Week In DCTV 10/27/19
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’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. NOTE: We will not be covering Epix’s Pennyworth at this time.
Weekly Score (Out of 5) - 4/5 - What a week, especially for the premium service shows. Watchmen clearly steals the show here with that premiere episode. Twist of the week goes to Watchmen, unsurprisingly, for the way that episode ended.
The CW
Supergirl – 3.5/5 – “Blurred Lines”
Kara tries to mend her relationship with Lena; J’onn J’onzz goes deep into his memories; Kelly tries to help an old friend. SPOILERS – J’onn has an impactful episode here with the revelation that he’s committed the ultimate Martian sin by essentially mind wiping his brother out of existence. The emotions that he went through were insane to watch. The Leviathan story continues to brew by dropping hint after hint that something bigger is going on. I hope that this bubbles to the surface soon to give this show an overall shot in the arm. Kelly is frustrating because she’s still incredibly trusting and naïve when there is a shapeshifter after her. An old friend showing up seems too coincidental for it not to be a problem. Finally, Lena plays Kara so convincingly and gets her to do something out of character by theft. This will become a problem soon, due to Kara’s personality and moral code and this will be the thing that ultimately drives them apart.
Arrow - 4/5 – “Welcome to Hong Kong”
Oliver, John, Laurel and Tatsu seek out an important person within The Monitor’s plan; Connor has a heart-to-heart with his brother. SPOILERS – First of all, I feel more and more that they need to drop the 2040 storyline or at least minimize it. I don’t care about this in relation to this season. However, the present-day work was great. Ollie questioned his mission and out come for the first time thanks to Tatsu, who already knew about the Monitor. The action sequences in this episode were fast, furious, and brutal. They have been crisp with the action so far this season. Using Ollie, Laurel, John, and Tatsu as a unit was an awesome way to bring previous seasons together and still drive things forward. 2 very strong acting performances by Katie Cassidy and Stephen Amell in different scenes – Laurel learning that her Earth is gone and Ollie thinking about the sacrifices that he’s made. I’m hoping that the “go retrieve this McGuffin” goes away soon. Also, a HUGE bombshell at the end that Lyla has been working for The Monitor as well.
The Flash - 4/5 – “Dead Man Running”
Barry prepares a member of Team Flash for life without him while hunting a terrifying meta-human with an unquenchable thirst; Ralph uncovers a family secret. SPOILERS – Getting to explore Frost as a character is a nice backdrop for the larger play which is Barry trying to prepare his team for his eventual death. Initially Barry and Iris attempt to hide it, but they realize later that it’s too great a secret to try to hide. However, they laid the groundwork for Bloodwork to begin his villainous turn. This episode was more about character development than anything else, but it still felt significant. As this moves forward, I’m expecting the secret keeping to stop and Team Flash to start to fully prepare for Crisis. Also, we got introduced to a new Wells as well as a new element that will show up later: Eternium. I’m sure he’ll show up later and actually maintain a difficult relationship with Team Flash, particularly Cisco. Finally, we met Ralph’s mom and got to understand why Ralph has some relationship issues, which will likely manifest themselves later in the season when we get him with his future wife.
Black Lightning – 3.5/5 – “The Book of Occupation: Chapter Three: Agent Odell’s Pipe Dream”
When Lynn learns that Jefferson brokered a deal with Agent Odell without consulting her first, it begins to put a strain on their relationship; Anissa and Grace have an emotional encounter. SPOILERS – Everyone, Agent Odell is a scary, scary individual. Between his unchanging expressions and his ambiguous motives, you are so unsure of what to think of him and that is most assuredly a good thing. He moves the Pierce family like pieces on a chess board to achieve his goals. He even plays Tobias Whale like a fiddle. He was an MVP in this episode that was so busy. Close behind was a resurrected Khalil. While I hated the drama associated with him and Jennifer before, he’s badass as an assassin. He will for sure come face to face with her later. Thankfully, the Grace threads seem to be tied up for now, but I feel like she’s going to factor in later as well. Henderson deals with his green light using officer before she dies and gives her husband some stolen money that she asks him to take care of. Henderson is a conflicted, underutilized character at times. He helps the show stay grounded. Finally, Jeff gets a suit upgrade, although it may be a double cross. It seemed to enhance his already expanding power set, which is great to see.
Batwoman - 4/5 – “Down Down Down”
The city waits for another visit from who they think is Batman; Alice continues to taunt Kate; Mary gets an unexpected new friend; as Batwoman faces a new enemy, Kate realizes she must make a decision. SPOILERS – We finally get the suit! I loved that the decision that Kate makes to continue being a vigilante revolves around Hush aka Tommy Eliot. I’m hopeful that he becomes his alter ego and a foil for Kate as the show develops. Again, this show moves quickly much to its benefit. It’s helpful to hit the ground running, especially since in a few short weeks, we’ll be hitting the crossover. There’s relationship drama on the show, but it doesn’t weigh the story down, but helps drive it forward.
DC Universe
Titans – 4.5/5 – “Jericho”
After the murder of Aqualad, Dick, Donna, Dawn, and Hank befriend Jericho Wilson, Deathstroke’s son. Realizing that Slade’s devotion to his son might be Deathstroke’s only weakness, Dick is eager to use the information against his nemesis. SPOILERS – They keep doing it over and over with this show. Every opportunity they get to show you why it’s a flagship show, they show you right away. This episode also showed exactly what this show is capable of – the heart, the humor, the tragedy, the action. All of it on full display. Jericho was spectacular as a sympathetic, and ultimately, a tragic figure. The visual for his power is cool. Dick also views himself as responsible for Jericho’s death, but it’s all on Slade here. Comic readers, like myself, don’t truly believe that Jericho is dead. In the comics, he manages to live on, which is ambiguous at the end of the episode. The only reason the score wasn’t higher is because of the way it ended with the team disbanding – it didn’t really seem to make sense. Damn, Deathstroke is amazing when he’s on screen. The fight scenes with him and Wonder Girl as well as the one with Robin showed just how much of an absolute force he is. I’m also thinking that this is the end of the exclusive time with the OG Titans as we now focus on the present-day team and their upcoming showdown with the master assassin.
HBO
Watchmen – 5/5 – “It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice”
Detective Angela Abar investigates the attempted murder of a fellow officer; The Lord of a Country Estate receives an anniversary gift from his loyal servants. SPOILERS – This show blew me away. It’s beautifully shot, the action is good, and it allows the viewer to have some introspection about race relations at times, as that was central to the plot of this episode. Very strong ties to the Watchmen universe, thankfully, and it looks like that will only become stronger as time goes on. Masks are such a huge part of this show and they do it in a cool way. Angela is an absolute badass in and out of costume. While it’s not confirmed, Jeremy Irons as Adrian Veidt is an awesome casting and seems like it’ll play heavily into the plot moving forward, especially since he’s supposed to be dead.